United Forces
by Firestorm
Summary: Thirteen teenagers, two mystical animals, two teams, one force. Sequel to The Power. Please review!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Don't own RWs. Do own, Flash, Blaze, her seven friends, Chinook, Tutock, and Guardians, and other unfamiliar characters. For those of who interested in the Warriors and the origin head over to my other site. The Warriors Heaven. http://TheWarriorsHeaven.homestead.com/TheWarriors.html

And please visit it! *big puppy dog eyes*

**************************************************************************

United Forces. 

Thirteen teenagers, two mystical animals, two teams, one force.

Sequel to The Power.

Chapt. 1.

Flash Michaels sat in the recliner, going over a word search. It was pretty quiet through out the Koji mansion. Rowen Hashiba was upstairs reading, Sage went off into the woods to meditate, Kento had gone with Mia to do some shopping, Yulie was with his parents, Cye was out swimming, Ryo was downstairs in the basement working out, Kayura was who knew where, and White Blaze and Blaze had gone off somewhere together.

Flash was enjoying the peace. So far her stay here had been quite interesting. She had been staying with the Ronins and Mia Koji for over two weeks now, and had met some really interesting characters. Talpa, the Warlords, and his ghost, as Flash liked to call Badamon, had all tried their hand at getting her. It had not worked out the way they had planned.

"Let's see eclipse, where's it at?" she murmured to herself. Aha! Found it! She circled the word, and went onto the next word. Mechanic. Downstairs, Ryo was taking a load of clothes out of the dryer. His thoughts weren't on the clothes though. They were on Flash. He knew that Sage had a crush on her, but they didn't match. Ryo wasn't one to judge, but he felt closer to Flash, and for some reason he loved her.

They had a lot in common, he realized. They were both pyromaniacs. They were both the leaders of their teams, and Ryo had yet to see the other Warriors. She was strong, funny, had a good sense of humor, and was protective of her friends. Last week during lunch at school, a jock had tripped Rowen on purpose, and Flash had literally picked the guy up and threw him head first into the garbage, then put the lid over it, and walked away as if nothing had happened. Definitely one of the kind, and the more he saw her, the more closer he felt to her.

Ryo sighed as he closed the dryer door. All the clothes were finally done. He lifted the basket and headed up the stairs.

In San Francisco, California, a blond haired boy sat meditating deep in the woods. His left eye was covered by a wall of hair. He was in deep concentration. And then something snapped him out of his trance, and he looked toward the sky.

On the other side of town, a girl with short black hair, pale skin, and dark brown eyes, dropped her book suddenly and gazed right out the window and at the sky.

Out on the beach, a boy with long unkempt orange-brown hair, one lock forelock hanging just over his nose, an earring in his left ear, and sky blue eyes was busy surfing as the crowds cheered him on. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell into the water. He resurfaced and spit out some water, then grabbed his surfboard and looked up at the sky.

In a large brick mansion a girl with long black hair, fixed in two braids, reddish skin, traditional Indian painted cheeks, soft brown eyes, and a white headband around her forehead, suddenly a pan of water onto the floor. Something she had never done before. She quickly looked up at the sky.

In the San Francisco mall, a girl with long reddish hair and bright green eyes was busy buying what she wanted and flashing all the good-looking guys huge smiles, and even winking at them. And then she got a chill. She quickly left the mall, and headed outside, and looked up at the sky.

At the park, two African male twins were playing basketball. One made a jump and went to grab the side of the net to throw the ball in when he suddenly slipped. He turned quickly so he landed on his feet, or rather his knees. As his brother helped them up, they looked toward the sky.

And all seven teenagers knew. He was back.


	2. Chapt.2.

****

United Forces

****

Chapt. 2. 

In Toyoma, Flash suddenly dropped her glass of water. Ryo jumped and saw what had happened. The glass had shattered, and Flash was picking up the broken pieces. "OW!" she suddenly cried. He was at her side, checking a good size cut in the middle of her palm.

"Oh, man!" he said, checking her wound. Blood dripped on the carpet, and he really wished Sage was here right now. "I have to get the glass out, Flash, but it's going to hurt."

"Take it out, Ryo. I can take some pain."

He nodded and gingerly pulled the glass out. Flash bit her lip in pain. "I have to get this cleaned," she said.

"Luckily you don't need stitches," Ryo told her. "But we still need to stop the blood. He handed her a towel. "Keep this wrapped around it, while I get the first aid kit."

Flash nodded and waited for him to return. He wasn't gone long. He cleaned her cut, thoroughly, and bandaged it with gauze and an ace bandage. "There," he said as he put everything away. "You shouldn't use that hand for awhile, until it heals."

Flash nodded. "I know," she said. "Ryo?" He looked up at her, staring deep into her eyes. "Yeah?" "Thanks," she said with a smile. He smiled back. 

"I'm going to get this glass cleaned up," he said. "Just sit right there." Flash nodded wordlessly as she watched him carefully pick the pieces up. Something was wrong, she thought to herself. There was no way she'd ever just let her drink fall like that. And then getting cut by the glass. Oh, something was wrong, very wrong. 

"Ryo, I need to call home," she said. He looked up at her. Something the way she put it made it sound very serious. He nodded his head and handed her the telephone.

At the brick mansion, all seven teenagers were gathered together at the dining room table. An elderly Japanese man sat there as well, his faced etched with deep concern and worry. Outside the sky was reddish black, and the sense of evil was high in the air.

"So, our enemy has found his way back again," he said quietly. All seven nodded.

"I don't get it!" the girl with short black hair cried as she banged her fist against the table. "How can he come back! We just got rid of him!"

"Shades, be calm," the man said without raising his voice. Shades stopped and looked at him. 

"Tutock has proven to be a formidable enemy. You are going to have to battle again, Warriors."

All seven nodded firmly. "We're going to need Flash," the blond haired one said.

"You are right Thunder," the man said as he nodded his head. Suddenly the phone rang, and all looked toward it. 

The girl with the two braids answered. "Hello?"

"T-boz?" came a voice. The girl brightened. "Flash! What perfect timing!"

"Is everyone there?" Flash asked.

T-boz nodded. "Yes. Flash, have you…."

"Tutock's back," Flash interrupted.

T-boz lowered her gaze and got serious. "We know," she said.

"I'm coming home," Flash said and hung up.

T-boz hung the phone up. "Well?" said one the twins.

"She's coming home," T-boz said.

The old man let out another sigh, and looked toward the sky. The seven were quiet again, all thinking the same thing. Why couldn't they just have a normal life? 

"I hope Flash gets here real soon!" said the kid with the orange-brown haired.

"Ah, don't worry, Scorpio!" said the same twin as he stuffed a burito in his mouth. "She'll be here in no time!"

"Ugh. Ice, that's really disgusting!" Shades cried.

Ice opened his mouth wider, and Shades looked ready to kill him.

"You guys knock it off!" Thunder said. "We don't have time for this. For all we know Tutock and his Guardians are already making plans and we should too!"

"We can't do anything without Flash," said Ice's twin. "But we should practice just the same."

"What about your robots, Snow?" the red haired girl asked.

"Not a bad idea, Chilie. I don't think Tutock will attack soon. Most likely he wants to surprise us. I can build up some robots and we can practice with them. I'll get started on it right away." He got up from the table, left the room, and headed right for his lab which was downstairs in the basement, off in a large room that had a door which he could shut for privacy. On it was a sign that said, Danger! Do not Enter! 

The man looked up at his students. "I suggest the rest of you practice your skills. You are going to need them sooner than you think."

"Yes, Master Chinook," T-boz said as the six of them nodded in agreement. One by one they all went to the Practice Room. Chinook looked out the window and at the dark red sky. Hurry, Flash. Tutock seems stronger than ever, and you may be the only one that can save us all.


	3. Chapt.3

****

United Forces

Sequel to The Power

Chapt. 3.

Ryo watched in stunned disbelief as Flash hung the phone up. She seemed nervous, shaky, even angry. He dared to open his mouth. "Flash, what was that all about? And why are you going home so soon? The school years not over for another six months!"

"Ryo, I have to go. Our city, my hometown, San Fransisco is being readied for an attack by our number one enemy. The other Warriors need me."

Ryo looked away, knowing she was dead serious. He was afraid for her, afraid she would go, and never come back, that he would never see her again. Finally he looked up at her. "Than we are going with you."

Flash was shocked, but she didn't show it. "Ryo, do you have any idea how dangerous this is? Tutock is not like Talpa. In fact Tutock would be equal to ten Talpas! And he has eight Guardians that are stronger than the Warlords, and…."

Ryo gently placed his hand over her mouth. "I know the danger," he said. "I've been fighting for a year straight now. But with us there to help you, what can we lose? Besides you helped us, so now it's our turn to help you."

Flash blinked, and he slowly let go her hand. "Wildfire, you are stubborn!"

Ryo only shrugged, and Flash sighed. "When the others get here, tell them the news. "I'll be ordering six planes tickets."

Ryo nodded, and Flash got of the recliner. She went to the front door and opened it. Ryo walked behind her. How he just wanted to reach out and hug her from behind, but he couldn't. She suddenly turned to him. "I'm going to the volcano," she said, and before he could ask to join her, she suddenly took off in a burst of speed, going at 200 m.p.h.

Ryo just stared with his mouth wide open. "Whoa!" was all he could say.

Sage paused on the bridge above the small river on the east side of Toyoma. He stared down at his reflection. Last night he had dreamt of a great battle in America, the worst he had ever seen. There were eight teenaged Warriors. A blue and white armor, a red armor, a green armor, a yellow armor, a black armor, a purple armor, a white armor, a black and orange armor. Then there were eight more warriors, taller, older, with sinister looking armors. And a giant figure that was clothed in a dark black robe and pure red eyes full of hate and immense power.

Sage let out a small sigh. But what did the dream mean? He recognized the blue and white armor as Flash, but the other seven, could those be the Warriors? And the sinister armors, and the giant dark figure? Could those be their enemies?

Sage didn't know. But one way or another he was going to find out. Whether he wanted to or not.

In a pure black castle filled with deadly evil, a giant figure wearing a black robe sat on his throne. He was tapping his fingers against the arms of his throne, a scowl was upon his face. "The Warriors have stood in my way for the last time," he growled, his voice deep and cold. "I will not have those brats stand in my way. This city will become my throne, and the word will be my footstool. They will become crushed by hand and might!"

"Master Tutock," a man with dark brown hair, that looked almost black, stepped forward with a bow. "How can we expect to beat them this time? With Firestarter on their side, they have the advantage, not us!"

"Doubt will be your downfall, Sin," Tutock warned as his eyes flashed angrily. "You and the other Guardians have been training for several months. Flash of the Firestarter is a good as dead. We need not worry about her. I already have a plan that will make the Warriors wish they had never been born!" And his evil laughter filled the entire castle.


	4. Chapt.4

****

United Forces

Chapt. 4.

Flash stood waist deep in steaming, hot lava. The lava did not scald her, instead it was as if she was taking a nice hot shower or a bath. She stood there pondering over everything that had been happening so far. Her mind turned to her mortal enemy. I could have sworn I finished him off, she thought. How does he do that? Did he fake his death? Tutock was clever like that. And she knew there was only one thing to do. Eliminate him once and for all.

"We're going where?" Rowen asked Ryo as he, Kento, Sage, and Cye stood there in the living room looking at Ryo. The four of them had just returned from where they had had been, and no sooner had they walked through the front door when Ryo sprang up to tell them.

"America," Ryo replied. "Flash's city is going to be attacked by her enemy. She's going back to help her friends, the other Warriors, and we're going along to help."

"Is her enemy that powerful?" Cye asked.

"She said he was equal to ten Talpas," Ryo replied with a frown. "This might be the greatest battle ever. I don't know what's going to happen, all I know is we're going to help because she helped us, and as Ronin Warriors, we're entitled to protect the whole world and join with those who also protect the world."

The four of them nodded in agreement. "So when do we leave?" Kento asked. He was already eager to go and kick some evil butt.

"As soon as she returns with our plane tickets, we'll know. She went to the volcano for now."

"She must be gathering strength for the battle then," Sage concluded.

"If this guy's as bad as she says he is, she'll need all the strength she can get!" Rowen added.

"I say we practice," Cye said.

Everyone looked at him in shock. Cye was serious. Ryo nodded his head. "Let's do that then." And they headed for the training room.

Somewhere in the woods, Blaze jumped up onto a high boulder and stood erect. He looked like a statue standing there perfectly still, until he lifted his head and sniffed the air.

"_What is it_?" White Blaze asked in concern.

"_Danger_!" And the wolf suddenly took off, appearing as white blur.

White Blaze watched in surprise. Danger, the wolf had said. The large tiger quickly turned and ran in search of Ryo.

Thunder stood outside staring up at the sky. Usually the sky in the evening would be filled with countless stars. But not tonight. The sky was a deep red color, menacing and foreboding. Behind him the porch light turned on automatically, just as it did everynight. His golden hair shone brightly, and his shadow cast forward on the front lawn.

He was joined by Scorpio. "So much for star gazing tonight, eh?" the young boy said, looking up at the sky.

Thunder nodded. "Tutock is not going to leave any lose ends. He wants this world so badly he'll do anything to gain it."

Scorpio nodded. "It would be just like that slimeball to come back. I hope Flash finishes him off once and for all!"

"If I know Flash, she will," the taller boy replied.

And the two Warriors stood there together in silence as the wind continued to blow.


	5. Chapt.5

****

United Forces

Sequel to The Power

Chapt 5. A Glimpse 

Flash was at Travel World at that moment. She was highly agitated but as a trained ninja she didn't show it. She thought about Ryo as she waited in line to purchase tickets and passports for America. He is so sweet, she thought. Of course all of them are, but for some reason, I feel like I can to talk to Ryo about anything. We're so much alike. I know Sage likes me, but it's more of a crush. Kento and Rowen treat me like a friend, and Cye treats me like a sister, he reminds me of Jacob. She frowned. No! I won't cry! Jacob wouldn't want me to!

The line moved. Her thoughts continued. Ryo is cute though. Sweet, loving, bad tempered, impatient at times, but he's so caring. She looked down at her bandaged hand. Underneath it still hurt, but she did not let her bother her. A sigh escaped from her lips. I just hope when we battle Tutock nothing happens to Ryo, or the others. I'd hate to lose them. Especially Ryo. I don't know why, but I'm more concerned about him, than the others. It's like something is being planned against him more so than others, but what? Flash didn't know. She did know however that she wasn't going to let anyone hurt her friends.

Ryo stood at the window, tapping his fingers impatiently against the windowsill. Flash had been gone for what seemed like an eternity, and he was getting worried. "Where is she?" he murmured. 

"Ryo?" He turned to see Sage at his side. "You're worried aren't you?" Ryo nodded his head. "I'm sure she's fine, Ryo," Sage assured him. 

"Sage," Ryo began as he looked up, "what do you think of Flash? I mean really think of her."

Sage paused for a moment as he considered the question. "Well, she's beautiful, she's got grace, she has spirit, she's funny. She seems to care a lot about her friends. And I really wouldn't mind having a date with her."

Ryo lowered his head and suddenly found the floor to be interesting. Sage caught that. "You like her, don't you?" he asked. Ryo nodded quietly, then lifted his head to gaze out the window.

"We're alike, Sage," he said softly, but loud enough for the Halo bearer to hear. "We both deal with fire, we're both the fastest, except she's a hundred times faster than I am, she's the leader of her team, and we both care very much for our friends, not to mention she's funny like you said, she makes me laugh."

Sage smiled. "Yeah, it takes a lot to make you laugh. You're always blaming yourself for something, even when it's not your fault."

Ryo nodded. "Yeah, I'm good for doing that." He smiled at little. "But I more than like her, Sage. I care about her. I'm just (sigh) worried about her."

Sage nodded in understanding. "Ryo, if you like her that much, tell her." With a friendly pat on the shoulder, Sage left Ryo alone.

Ryo stared out the window, thinking about what Sage had said and waiting for Flash. Just when he thought he could wait no longer for her, he suddenly saw her coming up toward the mansion. He sighed in relief and went to open the front door.

Flash hurried in as everyone gathered around.

"Well?" Rowen said.

"Ryo told you all, huh?" Flash said. Kento nodded his head as he stuffed several chips into his mouth from the bowl he was holding.

"I was able to get the tickets, but we can't leave until tomorrow after school, which is a bummer. I only hope Tutock doesn't plan an attack soon."

"This Tutock," Cye began, "is he really worse than Talpa?"

"Sit down," Flash said. "This is going to take a while to explain, and you'll need to know this." They did as she requested. "Tutock is the emperor of the netherworld called Tophet. It's like the Dynasty, but only it's bigger, and uglier. And it smells of death. When you're there, it feels empty, and it smells like death ten times over. If you're not careful to ignore it all, you can lose yourself and become lost without knowing it. Now Tutock is a giant tyrant. He is very evil. He has no love in his heart at all, and he has powers beyond your imagination. If he wanted to, he could just snap his fingers and you would be unconscious."

The Ronins' eyes widened with surprise. They wondered how Flash and her friends could battle such a monster. Flash went on. "He is always trying one way or another to gain the world. He forces people to become his slaves. They have one choice, either work for her, swear loyalty to only him, or become killed. And he could do it with just a raise of his hand against unarmored people. We Warriors are the only ones that stand up to him, which is why he hates us so much, especially me. He wants me the most of all."

"But why?" Kento asked. "For your armor or for your power?"

"For my power. Tutock is trying to figure out a way to absorb my power so he will become even more powerful. If that happens, the world is in big trouble."

"We won't let that happen," Ryo said firmly. "We made a promise we would help you. And we are going to do it, and we will win."

Flash laughed. "I thought virtue was your symbol, not faith." Ryo blushed a little but smiled. The other Ronins laughed. 

"Ryo, you are as red as your armor!" Rowen laughed.

"I'll say!" Cye said.

Ryo just rolled his eyes, but smiled. Inside he was thinking of the battle that was to come.

"Well, since we have school tomorrow, and tomorrow is going to be a long day, I say we all get some sleep," Sage suggested just as Blaze and White Blaze came into the living room. "And one of us will have to leave a note for Mia and Kayura explaining why we aren't home from school tomorrow."

"I'll take care of that," Rowen said.

"Well, then let's go to bed," Ryo said as he stood up. And they all said good-night to another and went upstairs to their rooms for the night.

He was tossing and turning, dreaming of a huge battle, only this time there were more on their side. He saw another green armor, another red armor, an orange armor, a dark blue armor, a light blue armor. Suddenly four of the armors combined powers and joined with the red armor. The red armor became a powerful white armor, a large black tiger wearing a white armor leapt over the armor bearer's shoulder, and the white armor took out two powerful swords from the tiger's back. He joined the two swords together with a powerful cry of 'Rage of Inferno!'

And Thunder suddenly shot up in bed with a startled gasp. That dream, he thought. Could it have been something of the future? Were more warriors joining them?

He looked across the room toward Scorpio. The boy was sound asleep, one arm flung over his face, a stuffed Flounder doll sitting on his chest. Thunder smiled and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapt. 6

****

United Forces

Sequel to The Power

There are some funny sayings down below, and some are mine and others do not belong to me! I am merely borrowing them!!

Chapt 6. 

Chinook walked into the kitchen calmly, addressing the situation before him. It was early in the morning, and so far Tutock nor his Guardians had attacked. But that didn't mean they weren't up to something. 

"Come on, T-boz, just a bite!" Ice begged while trying to steal a waffle. She smacked his hand away. "Ow!"

"Ice, you can wait until I'm done cooking everything! You don't have to be rude!"

Ice pouted, staring at the waffle, but T-boz watched him a hawk. Scorpio, Thunder, and Snow were all sitting at the table, calmly waiting for breakfast to be served. Chilie was in the bathroom, fixing her hair, no doubt, and Shades most likely was still in bed.

Chinook sat down after pouring himself a cup of coffee. "One of you had better go and wake Shades for school."

All six of them groaned. No one liked getting Shades up. In their book Shades was a bitch in the morning. But one of them would have to do it. Finally Thunder reached for a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?" Snow asked.

"Writing my will," Thunder replied.

"Hey, if Shades kills you, can I have your stereo?" Ice asked. Thunder gave him _the look. _And Ice turned away. "Or not," he said. 

Chinook just shook his head and sipped his coffee. Teenagers.

Thunder headed upstairs. Inside the room, it felt different without Flash's stuff there. She and Shades shared a room, and they were probably the closest out all of them together. Then again he and Scorpio were pretty close as well. 

He looked toward the sleeping girl and gulped. He shook her. "Shades, get up. It's after 6."

"Go the fuck away!" Shades grumbled.

"No. You have to get up for school."

"Fuck school!"

Thunder was tempted to ask, 'alright who are you and what did you do with Shades?' Shades loved school, but then again, in the mornings Shades was worse than Tutock. And that was scary.

"Shades, get up! Stop being lazy!"

"Get out before I mess you up big time!!"

Thunder sighed, thinking. Let's see, how to get her up. He left the room, walked down the hall, and came to the bathroom. The door was open. Chilie must have finished in here, he thought as he walked in. He spotted the bucket immediately. 

A few minutes later he returned to the room with a bucket of ice water and stood near Shades' bed. "Shades, get up now." 

"Fuck off!"

"You asked for it!"

SPLASH!!! "AUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!! YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! (POW!!) 

"OW!" Thunder's hand flew up to his jaw as he was knocked off his feet. He stared in surprise at a soaked Shades standing on her bed, glaring at her. He climbed to his feet, empty bucket in hand. Mission accomplished. "Get dressed. We leave in 45 minutes." He left the room, wincing at his jaw.

Shades shut the door as calmly as she could. "Asshole," she muttered. (hm, nice girl huh?)

By the time Shades was dressed and ready for school, and eating breakfast with the others, she was more calm, and apologized to Thunder who had an icepack to his jaw.

"Don't worry about it, Shades," Thunder assured her. She bit her lip, but nodded and finished breakfast. 

Chinook looked out the window. The sky was still the same red color as it was before. What could Tutock be planning? he wondered. 6:45. It was time for the Warriors to leave for school. He wished them well and safety, and they wished him a good day and protection, hating to leave him alone, but Chinook pushed them out the door, and closed the door behind them, and then turned around, leaned against the front door, and put a hand to his forehead. "Teenagers!"

At Ha'na High, the announcement was heard over the speaker. "The school will be holding auditions for the Talent Show in five minutes. All students willing to perform please come to the auditorium. Thank you."

The auditorium was practically full. There were many students there, along with several monitors to keep the situation under control. 

It was there that Flash found the Ronins. "Boy, I am so excited!" she told them. 

"Because of the talent show?" Rowen asked.

Flash nodded. "It keeps my mind off Tutock for a little while. I was having a hard time concentrating in math class. The teacher yelled at me."

"Sorry," Ryo apologized. Flash only smiled at him, wondering why he was apologizing.

"So what do you guys plan on doing?" she asked. Already a few kids were up on stage getting ready to perform.

"Songs," Sage said. "We know two of them by heart, and they have instruments we can use."

Flash nodded. "Sweet."

"What are you doing?" Cye asked.

"Well, I'm doing a comedy act," Flash said.

The Ronins grinned. 

The auditions began. Some students were good, some bad, some were very excellent, and some were just normal. The Ronins had their turn, and they sung two songs. The audience went crazy, especially the girls. It took a while for them to calm down. Finally it was Flash's turn.

"Thank you very, great to be up here!" Flash began, holding the audience captive. "It's been a great time here in Japan, I've met some really interesting people. Several months ago, I was playing street hockey with my friends, and if you ever want to tire your younger siblings out, that's the game to play. (pauses.) Well, until they hit you over the head with the hockey stick." The audience laughed. "Dang, it was a bad day. I kept tripping over the stupid cracks in the street, and then finally I hit the putty far and out, and right into a swamp area. And that's the worst place I wanted to be: The Snake Pit. I hate snakes with a passion. I don't think they're natural. I mean they can move, they don't got any legs. That ain't right. It's the devil, alright? It's in the American Bible." More laughter. "So I'm walking through the swamp area, smashing my hockey stick on the ground going, "HIYAH!! Like the snakes are gonna go, 'ohmigod!' My friend thinks I've gone crazy, and I know what he's thinking. Never trust something that bleeds for five days and doesn't die."

Uncontrollable laughter. Ryo could hardly believe it either. Even Principle Heke was laughing, and he never laughed. In fact he never even cracked a smile!

"Boy this is great! I was just thinking about my family. I have a dad, a stepmom, and two half younger sibilings, they have two dogs and one cat. You know, I found something out. You nuteur a dog, they kind of understand about it. Dogs are more like, 'alright, alright, ALRIGHT!!! Dang, I just knew this was gonna happen. You nuteur a cat, be prepared for the guilt trip of your life. We brought my stepmom's cat home from the vet, and he started dragging his butt on the carpet, like, 'look at ME! What's missing from this picture? What am I gonna tell my friends?'" More laughter. "And I know you cat owners all made this mistake. You're lying in bed, and you think your cat's asleep at the foot of bed, and you move your foot, and they're like, 'MOUSE! MEOWR!!!' And I don't care how hard you throw that cat against the wall, it never stuns them. Believe me, I tried it. They just bounce off with that attitude, 'Oh, is that the way we're gonna play, alright!'" 

Kento almost fell out of his chair, but managed to pull himself back up. Boy, Flash was a riot! She had the entire audience laughing! Cye himself was red in the face. He wondered if Flash would be able to get Talpa to laugh. Sage himself hardly ever laughed out loud, but he sure was now. Beside him Rowen's ribs hurt from laughing to hard. But he didn't care. This was way too much fun. Ryo was laughing so hard he got the hiccups. Cye patted him on the back to help him get rid of it, but it was no use. They just kept coming.

"My stepmother loves her cat and went berserk with it," Flash continued. "She taught this cat how to go the bathroom in the toilet, and he does it. Do you how weird it is, to get up at the crack of dawn, stagger in the bathroom, 'AUUUUGGGHHH! Whew! Hey, kitty!' He's sitting there with the funnies. 'Flash, what's up? That Garfield's sure a blast, ain't he?'" Laughter struck again. "But I find dogs more interesting than cats. There's a strange dog too. The Basenji. It's a barkless dog. Wouldn't that confuse you? Walk up to someone's yard and that dog is like, (does impression of a barkless dog causing more laughter) AUUUGGGHHH! I'm deaf!! I can't hear the dog! But I love people with pitbulls. Cause the owner is like, 'Oh, he don't bite! He's always got blood on his lips!' And you're like, 'Killer Dog! Run for your lives!'" The audience laughed again. This American girl was a classic. It was too bad they didn't have a talent show more often.

It wasn't long before the Talent Show was over. And even though the Ronins and Flash were to be in the Talent Show in one month's time, each of them wondered about the battle that was too come. And Flash knew it was going to be a battle the Ronins would never forget. She could only hope they could handle it.


	7. Chapt. 7

****

United Forces

Sequel to The Power.

Chapt. 7. Fear and an Argument

Tutock stood there, a cold expression on his face. He was watching his Guardians train for the upcoming war with the Warriors. They were training hard, sweat pouring off their brows. They were strong fighters, that he knew, but they had not been strong enough to defeat the Warriors.

Tutock clenched a fist at his side. Those blasted Warriors! Everytime he came up with a great plan to rule the world, there they were, standing in his way. And no matter how many times he had dealt them a powerful blow they always came back. All because of…..

"Firestarter!" he growled softly to himself. He lifted his eyes as they burned with fire and stared a picture of Flash hanging on the far back wall. He picked up a dagger, and with great force, hurled the dagger. It struck between the eyes.

Ryo let out a sigh as he stuffed his dufflebag into the compartment above his seat. He then turned and put Flash's up. As luck would have it, their seats side by side. Ryo couldn't be happier. 

"How long do you think it'll take us to get to your home?" Ryo asked as he sat down and buckled up. Rowen and Kento were across the aisle from them, and Sage and Cye were behind them. Both Blaze and White Blaze were down below. 

"Thirty hours at the most," she replied, tapping her fingernails against the arm of her seat.

"Thirty hours?" Kento said. "Sheesh! That seems like a long time!"

"Thirty hours ain't that long, Kento," Rowen said as he opened up a book. 

Kento muttered something and leaned back. 

The announcement came on not long after as the captain told everyone to be buckled up, where they were at right now, where their destination was, and how long it would take for them to get there. And then he went through the safety instructions. Finally the plane started up and taxied down the runway.

Sage was pale as a ghost, and he was leaning forward in his seat.

"Sage, are you OK?" Cye asked worriedly.

"I'm gonna be `ulp!` sick!"

The others looked over at him. Flash stared for a moment with worry. "Is he OK?" she asked.

"He's afraid of flying," Rowen explained as Cye handed Sage a paper brown bag he found. 

"Breath in and out of this, Sage. It'll calm you down."

Sage complied, but he wasn't feeling any better. He was starting to tremble really bad. Flash was frowning, and then she narrowed her eyes.

"Sage, could you move your head? I can't see out the window, and there's an eagle out there!"

Sage was a little shocked to say none the lease. He glanced up. "How can I move my head, when I freaking sick?!" he snapped back.

"It ain't my fault you got on this plane, now is it?" Flash retorted. "You should have told us you got airsick, then we would have taken the train!"

"That would have taken too long, and you know it!" Sage hollered back. What was she doing? Was this the same Flash they knew a few minutes before? The others were just staring back and forth at the two. Rowen afterwards chose to stay out it and went back to reading, drawing out their argument. Cye sank down in his seat. He hated it when people argued. Ryo and Kento were watching the whole thing, wondering which of them would win, while some other passengers glanced up at the commotion. One man cleared his throat and went back to reading his newspaper.

"It's not my fault I get airsick!" Sage hollered angrily. "I only came on this flight, because I care about you and the world!"

"Sage," Flash said calmly.

"What?!"

"Look." She pointed at the window beside him.

Sage did and did a double take. He could see a sheet of clouds. The beauty enraptured him. It was like a field of cotton had been laid out before it, only the cotton was not still on the plant. It was beautiful up here. No wonder why Rowen always watched the sky.

And then realization hit him. He turned to Flash and glared at her. "You did that on purpose!" he accused.

Flash grinned as she leaned back. "Yep!" she said proudly, pure straight white teeth showing. Sage suddenly smiled, his eye twinkling. 

"Thank you," he said as he turned to gaze out the window again.

"Anytime!" Flash said with a smile.

Ryo smiled a little, then leaned toward her. "How did you do that?" he asked her quietly.

"I distracted him. I figured nothing else would work, so I had to get him to fight with me. And it worked."

"Smart," Ryo commented as he straightened up in his seat.

Flash beamed again, then took out her walkman, stuck in her favorite tape, and put the headphones over her ears. She was going to try to relax before battling her mortal enemy once again.


	8. Chapt. 8

****

United Forces 

Sequel to The Power

Chapt. 8

T-boz stood silently in the school yard, deep in thought. She was alone, waiting for the others to come out. Today had been a hectic day. The students and teachers could hardly concentrate on their work. All day everyone had been glancing nervously out the windows, at the deep red sky. The teachers had asked the students what they thought it might be. Some students had said it was probably red because there was a meteor storm directly above the planet itself. Others thought it was simply Mars shifting around on its axis, its color hitting off the sun's rays and hitting Earth's ozone layer. And some believed it was the end of the world. How true that statement seemed, she thought as she adjusted her white headband around her forehead, her dark brown eyes taking in full view of the red covered sky.

"Just what are you plans, Tutock?" she murmured.

"T-boz!" came a voice. She turned and smiled as Chilie ran toward her, her long red hair flying behind her.

"Where're the others?" T-boz asked.

"They're coming," Chilie said. She didn't look at the sky. She already knew that she going to partake in the battle of her life, but that did not mean she wasn't going to enjoy life right now. She had every intention of enjoying life before and after the war.

"Here come the others," T-boz said. Sure enough, Thunder, Shades, the twins, and Scorpio were all making their way over to them. The teenagers quickly began making their way home.

"There they are, Master Tutock!" a Guardian with red and green spiked hair said as he gazed through the Mystical Mirror. "Let us attack them!"

Tutock laughed, the sound deep and echoing. "You are so impatient, Savage! Look at them! They are agitated and nervous. They know we might attack them at any time. They are on guard. Do you realize what would happen if we were to attack them now together?"

That had them all thinking. The last time they had attacked the Warriors, they had nearly beaten them, until the Warriors had learned of their hidden powers, and until Flash had defeated them all. That brought painful memories, especially for Karma, Guardian of Deception.

Malice, the Guardian of Terror, cracked an evil smile. "Master, you said 'together'. Does this mean, what I am thinking you mean?"

Tutock grinned back and nodded his head. "Why, yes, Malice it does. I want the Warriors captured, one by one."

"So how was school today?" Chinook asked as the Warriors settled in to do homework.

"Boring," Ice said as he opened his English book up.

"It was okay," Scorpio said as he took out a Geography book.

"Fine," T-boz said.

"It was interesting actually," Snow said as he began his Advanced Chemistry homework.

"I thought it was kind of fun myself," Chilie said as she opened up her History book.

"It was great!" Shades exclaimed as she got started on her Math homework. The others kept a silent groan to themselves. Only she would like school that much. But Thunder was awfully quiet, his light blue eyes, his left eye was covered by a wall of blond hair, were staring down at the table, there was a frown on his handsome face. 

Chinook stared at him for a moment. "Thunder?" he called gently, getting the teen's attention. "Are you all right, Thunder?"

Thunder hesitated, then slowly shook his head. "I feel that there is something wrong, 

Sensei, but I can't place it because of the headache I have."

Chinook and the other Warriors frowned. Thunder was always getting headaches when

he had a vision. So what did he see? It could not be anything good that was for sure. Thunder was frowning. The urge to go for a walk increased. He looked up. "Master 

Chinook, would I be able to go for a walk? Please?"

The elderly man regarded the young boy carefully. He could see how much he needed 

get out. Finally he nodded. "Go, my child, and be careful!" Thunder climbed out of his seat and politely bowed. "I will, sensei." He left the house quickly, determined to sort this all out, what was plaguing his mind.

Chinook watched him go as the other Warriors got started on their homework. He frowned. He hoped Thunder was going to be okay.

Thunder walked slowly down Morrison Street, deep in thought. He passed people 

walking on all sides of him. He paid them no mind, but he moved around them gracefully as if he could see them without looking directly at him. A couple of teenager girls giggled in his direction. He paid them no mind. For some reason he'd always been rather shy around girls, except for Flash, Chilie, T-boz, and Shades. He had no choice but to get to know them. Any other time a girl walked up to him, he wanted nothing more than turn and flee the other way. Perhaps the reason was because he had been locked up in a military school after his parents had sent him to one because he had grown too big for the small ship they had been living on. 

He sighed as he paused by a petshop store and glanced through the windows at some

puppies. It all seemed like yesterday. He remembered being on the small ship with them in Germany when he was about eight years old. And then his parents told him he had to go away because they could no longer afford to take care of him. He had been sent to an all boy's military school, where he was trained to be an officer. When he hit thirteen, he had learned that his parents had been lost at the sea due to a vicious storm. When he had turned fourteen, he had a dream about eight teenaged Warriors battling a great evil. It took him several days to convince the officers to allow him to come to America. It was a good thing he had grandparents living here!

Thunder smiled softly as one pup came up to the glass and began licking it. Of course

he hadn't seen his grandparents for a month now. He would have to take the time and go and visit them as soon as possible. He looked toward the sky. Perhaps when this was all over.

He moved along, coming toward St. Adams Park and Playground. The wind picked up

and he quickly glanced around. He remained still. If there was a enemy nearby, he couldn't let them know he could see them or know the fact he knew they were there. He would get the drop on them, before they got the drop on him.

And then suddenly something from above slammed down onto his head, and he fell to 

the ground like a stone dropping from the sky, completely unconscious.

A figure dropped down from out of the tree, wearing a blue and yellow striped armor. 

"That was easy!" he grinned triumphantly.

Another one appeared, dressed in black and purple armor. "Very good, Cain! You

managed to defeat him without even lifting your finger!"

Cain sneered at the other as he bound up the boy's arms and legs. "Well, I didn't see

__

you doing anything to help me, Malice!" 

Malice glared at him. "I was keeping him distracted for you information!"

Cain waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get him back to Master Tutock!"

Malice lifted the unconscious boy up and over his shoulder as he cast another glare at his

comrade. A swirling black vortex appeared, and the two Guardians disappeared through it, taking Thunder with them.


	9. Chapt. 9

**United Forces**

Sequel to The Power

Chapt. 9.

The plane continued a steady course onto America. The passengers were just finally starting to relax and enjoy the long flight. The stewardesses went through the plane, offering beverages and food to them, which made Kento more than happy. As long as there was food he didn't care how long the flight lasted.

Flash was agitated though. For the past half hour she kept having a bad feeling, and she couldn't place it. All she knew was that something had happened. If only the pilot would fly faster! she thought. Usually she was patient, but now patience didn't matter.

Ryo glanced at her worriedly. He could sense she was upset about something but what? He watched her warily as she tried in vain to open a bag of salted roasted beans, something she should have been able to do with ease. 

"Here, let me," he offered. She handed it over to him, and he opened the bag and gave it back. 

"Thanks," she said, without bothering to eat one.

"Is there anything wrong, Flash?"

Flash let out a silent sigh. "Actually there is, but I can't place it. I feel like one of my friends is in trouble. No doubt the others do themselves."

"What do you think it is?" Ryo asked.

Flash's eyes narrowed angrily. By now the other Ronins, were staring at her. "Tutock," she whispered. Just the way she said it was enough to send a chill straight through the backbone. 

Thunder's eyes fluttered a few times, and he let out a soft moan. The sound echoed off the walls, which caused him to open his eyes. He found himself staring at the floor that was at least thirty feet above him. He recoiled back in shock, and received pain in his wrists. He bit his lip to keep from crying out, and discovered that he was chained by his wrists in the mouth of a large dragon whose sharp teeth were slightly brushing against his hair.

He let out a sigh. He did not need anyone to tell him where he was. He already knew. And so far this day was the worst he had woken up to.

"So you're awake are you?"

Thunder's head snapped up a bit to find his number 1 enemy there in the cell with him. His eyes narrowed angrily. "Tutock!" he hissed with a growl.

Tutock's mouth cracked into a wicked smile. He stared at the chained Warrior with hatred. "Good to see you again, Storm," he said, staring the boy right into his eye. "I trust you're not _too_ comfortable." 

Thunder's reply was a cold glare. It didn't affect the emperor one bit. Instead his mouth twisted into a cruel sneer. "Oh and yes, I do know that Firestarter is on her way back to this country. Well, I'll take care of that little problem right away."

"You leave her alone!" Thunder hollered angrily.

"How about, no?" Tutock smiled evilly. "She will be captured, and her power will be mine. And you and the other Warriors shall live to see her suffer! Just as you will suffer now. Hahahahahahaha!"

He raised one hand, centering it on the jewel within the dragon's forehead. The jewel lit up, and several electrical currents shot down, and right through the chains holding the Warrior. And Thunder screamed in pain.

The Warriors were all uneasy. Thunder had been gone for awhile now, and even Chinook was worried. And now all of them had headaches. Something was wrong, very wrong. They had to look for him, knowing of the possible danger they would face. And yet they were reluctant to leave Chinook. What were they going to do? Finally it was decided that Scorpio, Chilie, and Snow would go and search while Ice, T-boz, and Shades stayed behind to guard their sensei. 

As the three Warriors ran down the street, Snow glanced up at the sky. Hurry, Flash!

Sage's eyes widened as he felt the plane bounce. Cye looked over at him. "It's okay, Sage. We're just hitting some turbulence, that's all." Sage nodded, but he still felt uneasy. He heard another plane in the distant, and looked out the window. It was a charter plane, black in color, and it looked almost evil. He closed his eyes, then reopened them. The plane was gone. He shook his head. I have to get more sleep, he told himself. 

That was when everyone felt something hit the roof of the plane.

"What was that?" Kento wondered as he looked up toward the ceiling. 

"I don't know," Rowen said, trying to formulate an explanation. The passengers were whispering excitedly, wondering what could be on top of the big jet plane they were flying in.

And then they heard voices, gruff voices coming from the front of the plane. Ryo glanced up, then slid out of his seat and tiptoed to the front of their cabin. He peeked through the curtain, and his eyes widened. Quickly, he returned to the others.

"We've got trouble."

"Ryo, what is it?" Cye asked.

"There's soldiers out front," he explained quietly. He looked at Flash. "They have to be soldiers you know. I have never seen soldiers this size before."

"Were they huge wearing silver color armored with very large spikes?" she asked. Ryo nodded, and she clenched her fists angrily. "Soldierknights!" She leapt out of her seat. The other Ronins followed suit. The passengers were glancing up at them curiously, and then curiosity turned to complete shock when the five boys changed into their subarmor.

And not a moment too soon. Six soldierknights suddenly rushed into the cabin with very large weapons. Some screamed. Rowen's fist suddenly went into one soldierknight's mouth, causing it to stagger back. He finished it with a flying kick. Ryo grabbed one soldierknight and flung it over his shoulder. It landed on the floor with a loud crack, and Sage's foot finished it off.

Flash was between two soldierknights, eyeing them warily. They held their weapons above their heads and charged. Flash suddenly went down into a headstand, and her legs struck out either way, kicking both into opposite sides of the plane. She somersaulted over and watched as Cye sent a soldierknight crashing into another that had been thrown by Kento. The impact destroyed both soldierknights. The plane suddenly bounced, then began to descend. The people screamed. 

Rowen looked out the window and gasped. "We're losing altitude!"

"What?" Kento asked.

"He means we're going to crash!" Ryo cried. Sage's eyes grew wide with fear. No, this could not be happening! 

"What are we going to do?" Cye asked worriedly. "There are other people on this plane. We can't desert them!"

Flash immediately took action. "Talk to the passengers and keep them calm! I'm going to handle this problem!" She took off toward the cockpit, with Ryo right behind her. He wondered what she was up to.

It was there, that they discovered that the pilot and his co pilot were both dead, their life sucked out of them like juice sucked out of an orange.

Ryo's eyes widened with surprise. Flash did not wait around. She grabbed the pilot and let his lifeless body lay on the floor as she hopped into the seat.

"What are you doing?" Ryo asked as he noticed that they were closer to the ground. They were probably up about 5000 feet. Not good.

"Send out a mayday to the Tower," she replied. "I'm gonna land this thing."


	10. Chapt. 10

**United Forces**

Sequel to The Power

Chapt. 10. 

Ryo was a bit worried though. He could see that the plane was getting closer to the ground. He quickly put out an emergency signal to the nearest tower, but all he got was static. "This is just great! There's no frequency!"

"Calm down," Flash said. She was working at the controls. He watched as she pulled the throttle back, checked the pressure fuel, switched the fuel injector from mechanical to automatic, and then pulled the steering wheel back towards her. The plane bounced, shifted, and then it began to pull up. 

Ryo stared in amazement. He watched as the ground went further and further away. Flash wasn't done yet though. She took the throttle again and eased it up, leveling the plane out so that it was even.

"How did you learn how to do that?" Ryo asked.

I traveled with my dad to Siberia once, and we sat up in the cockpit with the pilot. I watched everything the pilot did."

"So you learned how to fly just by watching him?"

"Yep."

"Wow."

Flash continued to fly the plane as Ryo tried in vain to get through to the Tower. He sighed in frustration, then looked down under the console. He gasped. "No wonder we can't through!

"Nani?"

"They cut the wires!" Ryo fumed. "I'm going to get Rowen. He can fix this."

Flash merely nodded as Ryo left the cockpit. As he walked through the cabins, he could see that the people were more calm now, just a bit shaky. He found Rowen in the third cabin, talking gently to a woman with two children. The woman smiled and nodded at something Rowen was saying, and Rowen smiled back as he straightened up.

"Rowen!" Ryo said as he came up to him. Rowen turned around and Ryo took him off to the side, and quickly explained things as quietly as he could without alarming the passengers. Rowen's eyes widened, and he followed Ryo back toward the cockpit. Sage, Kento, and Cye stared curiously. "I'll explain in a few minutes," Ryo promised them as he disappeared through the curtain.

"What was that all about?" Cye wondered.

"I don't know," Sage replied. "But whatever it is, it can't be good." 

Flash looked up and smiled as Ryo and Rowen entered. "Good afternoon, boys, I am your captain for today. Our destination will be the ground just as soon as we get permission from the Tower to land."

Rowen smiled as Ryo laughed. "Well, captain, I'm here to fix your problem," Rowen said as Ryo showed the cut out wires. Rowen wrinkled his nose and got right to work. The next few minutes were spent in silence. And then suddenly a loud BOOM was heard. The passengers screamed in terror, and Ryo looked out the side door window. His eyes widened. Several small attack planes, ones he had never seen before were heading right for them, and firing at them.

Flash reached for the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are under attack by psychotic pilots. If you've never been on a rollercoaster before you are about to experience it. Fasten your seatbelts tightly and make sure all compartments are sealed tightly. Thank you."

Kento raised his eyebrows in surprise. He knew they were being shot at, so he, Sage, and Cye had all ordered the people to lean forward in their seats and cover their heads and children if they had any. The people obeyed immediately. It seemed these teenagers with the mysterious subarmor were a lot more calm than they all were.

Cye looked out the window and gasped. A horde of planes were heading right for them, firing rapidly. Just as he thought they were about to hit, the plane suddenly lurched forward into a nose dive. Cye lost his balance stumbling into Sage who crashed against a passenger's seat. Sage gritted his teeth, and struggled not to fall onto the elderly gentleman, and not to loose his grip on Cye. And Cye held on.

Ryo's eyes were wide. The plan was traveling in a straight line on its nose, going at least 5000 mph. Rowen seemed quite relaxed as he worked on the wires, then again, being the bearer of Strata, it seemed perfectly natural. He looked out the window and saw in the mirror that the attacking planes were following them. He looked down and saw that they were above the ocean. 

"Uh, Flash, isn't a bad time to go swimming?" he asked nervously.

"No," she replied. "I know what I'm doing."

Ryo nodded and held on. He would trust her. 

They came closer to the water, and closer, and closer, and then suddenly Flash pulled back on the steering wheel, and the plane suddenly went up, which caused Rowen to fly back and hit the cockpit door. He shook his head, clearing it. They heard several splashes and crashes, and Ryo looked out the window to see that two planes had crashed into the ocean, and four planes had crashed in together. He let out a sigh as Flash flew the plane up. Rowen had returned to the wires and was working on them again. And then Ryo laughed in relief.

"You did it!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it's not over yet," Flash warned. "We still have to land this thing."

Ryo nodded and Rowen cried out triumphantly. "They're fixed!" Ryo grinned at Flash who grinned back as Ryo grabbed the microphone. "Mayday, mayday! Flight 777 seeking help from Tower if available. Come in Tower.

Static, and then "We read you loud and clear, Flight 777. This is Tower ORC. What is the problem?"

"Tower ORC, we have been attacked by an unknown airforce. The pilot and his copilot are deceased. Request for emergency landing."

"Request permitted. Tell me Flight 777 do you need help in landing the plane?" Flash shook her head, and Ryo said, "No, Tower. My friend is handling it all."

"Well, tell your friend they are doing a fine job in flying. We got you on our radar. The plane is flying smooth and even."

"Thank you, sir!" Flash said with a beam. 

"Now, veer off to a degree of about 45 angels north. You'll see a long gray strip right before. We have emergency cruisers on their way now, and they will meet you there. Over and out."

"Over and out. Arigatou, Tower ORC," Ryo said as he disconnected. He leaned back in his seat. Flash followed the directions of the tower and saw the strip that tower was talking about. She pulled up on the throttle, pushed the steering wheel forward, titled it to the left, so they flew over the landing strip, then back to the right so they were directly above it. She maneuvered the controls, and then the plane began to descend nice and easy. As they came closer to the ground, she pulled back a bit on the throttle, and pulled the steering wheel back up a bit. The plane landed on the runway, and bounced once, then continued down the runway. Flash pulled up all the throttles, switched the fuel injector back to mechanic, lowered the pressure gauge, and applied pressure to the brakes. The plane finally came to a stop, just as emergency cruisers came out to meet them.

The passengers all exited the plane, some shaky, some excited, and some as pale as ghosts. Those that were in shock were taken to the hospital for treatment. Ryo held onto White Blaze's cage, and Flash stood next to Blaze's cage. The animals were silent, watching the intense activity through their doors. 

"Can you believe all this?" Sage said in wonderment, as the passengers were checked carefully. Mechanics checked the plane from nose to tail, checking for damage.

"Actually, I can believe all of this," Flash said quietly. "It's the just the thing, Tutock would do."

Cye turned to look at her. "You mean those planes attacking us, were his?"

"No. Tutock had the planes under control. There were no pilots in those planes."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Ryo said. Flash nodded in reply. 

"I am not giving up this fight," Flash said with intensity. "I've sworn to crush the Tophetian Master." 

Ryo was a bit surprise. He had spoken almost the exact words when he had first started out. 

"Uh, guys?" Rowen said. "We have company coming." All of them looked up to see a team of news reporters heading their way. Flash and Ryo quickly let their animals out, and the eight of them vanished into the crowds.


	11. Chapt. 11

**United Forces**

Sequel to The Power

Chapt. 11. 

T-boz frowned. She and the other Warriors had been out for three hours straight searching for Thunder, with no sign of him. They had called out his named, and checked with the local neighbors, but no one had seen him.

"Where could he be?" Chilie wondered anxiously. Her green eyes peered up the street, checking out every blond haired guy that came by. None of them were Thunder.

T-boz pursed her lips tightly. "Let's split up into teams of two. Ice and Shades will take the south, Scorpio and Snow will take the north, Chilie and I will take the west."

"What of the east side?" Scorpio asked.

"We'll work our way around there," T-boz said. "Meet back here in three hours."

The Warriors nodded and headed off, searching for Thunder. 

Thunder was shaking, badly. He had been shaking ever since the Dragon had stopped electrocuting him, which had been about an hour ago. His hair was damp and matted to his forehead from his sweat. His body burned and smelled like sulfur. His shoulders and arms had major cramps, and the cuffs were cutting into his wrists, causing the blood to run down his arms. 

He let out a long sigh. "This is not my day," he told himself. He shifted the best he could, and looked down. Gee, the floor looks interesting today, he thought sarcastically. Truth to be told he was scared. Scared his friends would end up like he was. One good thing about being the bearer of the Storm armor was that he had the power to heal and raise the dead, as long as they did not die of natural causes brought on by themselves. It would have to be battle related. And Thunder could bring back anyone who had been killed in battle. But he would not being able to bring his friends back to life, if he could not get near them to place his hands on them. He wanted to get out of here. He hoped his friends would be able to rescue him soon, without being caught themselves. This worried him much. He let out another long sigh and shifted uncomfortably. "Guys, where are you?"

"Any sign of him?" Chilie asked Shades after checking very store, every backyard, every hiding place.

"No," Shades replied a little testily. She wasn't snapping at her friend. The Warrior of Ataxia was just worried. She was in a foul mood because they had been searching nonstop for Thunder and hadn't seen a sign of him. It was like he had vanished into thin air! 

"We have to find him!" Chilie said, turning to look up an alleyway. All she saw was a black cat. No time to say hello. Got to find Thunder.

And then they felt a presence and whirled around, their symbols lighting upon their foreheads. Shades bore a question mark on her forehead, and Chilie bore a heart on hers. The two Warriors glared at the figure before them.

He was dressed in a red and green armor and carried a large nodatchi. The shoulder guards of his armor were upraised, each with two long wide spikes protruding from both guards. The breastplate had four spikes pointing outwards, the arm guards were pretty thick, yet light, his gloved fingers had brass knuckles on them. The hip guards were narrowed, covering his hips and groin area quite well, and the boots he wore, were heavy and steeled toed with a single spike protruding from the big toe area. And the helmet was in a V shaped with two large horns going left and right on either side of it.

"Savage, Guardian of Hatred," Chilie stated, eyeing their enemy up and down. 

"Hello, Warriors!" Savage hissed coldly. "Nice to see you still around!" He smirked. "Then again, how disgusting it is to see you still around!"

"Oh yeah?" Shades retorted. "Look who's calling who disgusting! You look like you just crawled out from under a pile of trash! Oh, wait, forgot. YOU ARE TRASH!!!"

Savage glared at her. "It doesn't matter what you think of me, you little bitch. Master Tutock wants you brought to him, and I intend to do it."

"Well, you're gonna get a hard time from us," Chilie stated. "And it'll be our pleasure!" She suddenly threw up her arm and tilted her face to the sky as a bright purple light emanated from her as she shouted, "Armor of the Warrior! Now come!" The light intensified, but she could hear Shades repeating the same words, knowing her Russian friend was glowing in her own green light. When the light faded, she was dressed in a purple armor. The top of the helmet was upraised, like several blocks stacked side by side, the shoulder guards were rounded, the arm guards were smooth and upraised at the shoulders, but near the forearms they were down raised. The breastplate was shaped outward, and then as it was went down, it was shaped inward, and there were several different sets of small spikes coming from it. The knee guards poked out some, each with two thin spikes protruding from them, one right under the other. Her hip guards curled inwards, each lined with five spikes going outwards. Her visor appeared over her eyes, and a pair of slingshot daggers (combo of a dagger and a slingshot put together) appeared in either hand.

Shades armor was green. The breastplate was wide and smooth, her shoulder guards were puffy and wide, each with two large spikes sticking out on either side of her arms. The knee guards were shaped into a V going downward, with three spikes on either side of both legs. Her helmet was rounded and the top was pretty bumpy. Her visor appeared down over her eyes, and two large boomerangs appeared in her hands.

The lights faded from the two girls, and they stood ready.

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" Shades snarled, holding up her boomerangs.

Savage smirked. "We'll see who gets their ass kicked, Ataxia."

Shades looked ready to curse him out, but Savage raises his sword and began twirling it around his head as yellow and black energy lights began to spark. "Sabotage Strike!" he cried, and swept his sword downward into a wide sweeping arc.

"Scatter!" Chilie cried. The two girls leapt in opposite directions, going as high as twenty feet in the air. Shades somersaulted, then turned back and did a flying leap kick, scoring a hit right in Savage's face.

The Guardian went flying back, stunned from the blow, but he recovered quickly and charged for Shades. He brought his sword down upon her, and she used her weapons to block each blow. The fight was intense as they battled one another. He laid a punch to her neck. She returned the favor by punching him in his stomach. Arms and legs flew through the air in battle formation, sometimes connecting with flesh, and other times missing. Finally Savage made a fake strike, and when Shades had missed, he used his foot to send her flying several feet backward, where she slammed against a tall oak tree and went crashing to the ground.

"SHADES!!!" Chilie cried in horror for her friend. She suddenly leapt into the air and tackled Savage with both feet as well as her elbow. Savage grimaced in pain, but hid it well. He tried to grab her, but she was too quick. She grabbed him by his wrist and upper arm and threw him over her shoulder very fast and hard. The impact on the ground shook him some, but he got to his feet and charged for her. Weapons crashed against weapons. The metal sound of it echoed through out the deserted parking lot of the local post office where it was all taking place. 

Chilie cast a worried glance at her unmoving friend as she fought to protect both their lives. Savage saw this as an opportunity and struck quickly. "Sabotage Strike!"

The pain gripped Chilie like a thousand daggers stabbing her at once. She screamed loudly in pain as she went flying back. She hit the ground, rolled twice, then came to rest on her right side. She was still.

Savage let a cruel smile come to his face as he sheathed his sword. He walked casually over to Chilie and grabbed her by one ankle and dragged her over to Shades where he grabbed Shades as well. A swirling black hole appeared and he went inside, dragging the two unconscious girls with him, as a cold smile came on his face. Two more Warriors had been captured.


	12. Chapt.12

****

United Forces

****

Sequel to The Power

Chapt. 12.

Snow and Scorpio were searching the woods carefully. Both Warriors were concerned, and could only hope they would find Thunder soon. They marched on, searching behind every plant, every tree, occasionally scaring away a rabbit or a bird. But one thing bothered Scorpio. Why did Chilie and Shades go off together? It was suppose to be Chilie and T-boz, and Ice and Shades. But instead, T-boz had gone off with Ice. What was up?

But then, T-boz must have been extremely worried about Thunder. She might have meant Ice and her, Chilie and Shades. It was all he could come up with.

Snow let out a sigh as he scanned the area. All he could were plants, plants, plants, and more plants. "I don't get it," he said quietly. "We should have found him by now."

Scorpio nodded and tugged his earring in his left air. He always tugged it when he was worried or nervous, like Chilie biting her nails. "We have to keep searching for him. We can't give up."

"You're right, and we won't. Let's keep looking." 

Scorpio nodded, and the two set off, as several feet behind them, a pair of cold dark eyes followed their every move.

After walking for awhile, and having no luck finding Thunder, Scorpio suddenly paused with a serious intense expression on his face. "Snow, did you feel that?" he asked quietly.

Snow nodded. "I did. Someone's here."

"How perceptive of you," came a sinister voice. Both of the boys turned and found themselves face to face with a Guardian. He was dressed in a black and purple armor. The helmet was Roman shaped but instead of the soft feathers making up the brush on the helmet, there were spikes, the shoulder pads were squared and narrowed down to a point. The breast plate was circular shaped with three rings intertwined with one another. The guards on his arms were cylinder shaped with a set of claws on each right by the elbow. The guards on his knees were triangular shaped with two deadly spikes protruding just below the knees. He was carrying a large deadly looking sword with a skull head on to the tip of the handle. There was a sneer on his face.

"Malice, Guardian of Terror," Scorpio said, staring hard at the Guardian. 

"So it seems I've found two little Warriors all by themselves today!" Malice cackled.

"Oh yeah? Who says we're alone?" Snow said, his eyes narrowing slightly. He was watching the Guardian for any sudden moves. Who knew what was up Malice's sleeve.

Malice rolled his eyes. "Oh please, I scanned the area. No one else is here but you two and I."

The boys glanced at each other briefly, then back at him. Without warning, Malice charged, his battle cry was loud, scaring away a dozen birds, four rabbits, and at least three deer. 

The boys quickly leapt apart, Scorpio going left and over Malice's head, as Snow leapt back, somersaulting four times, until he came down on his feet. Both armored up, using the Armor call up, 'Armor of the Warrior. Now come!' Snow was dressed in a black and orange armor, the helmet was squared shaped but rounded off at the top. Two flat horns with sharp end points were on either side, the shoulder pads were rounded and smooth, the arm guards were squared and slightly raised with four spikes coming out of them. The breast plate was also squared with four large spikes protruding out of it, two side by side and below one another. The knee guards were rectangular shaped with two horns sticking out of the kneecaps. His visor appeared over his eyes, and two numchucks appeared in both of his hands.

Scorpio stood ready in his yellow armor, a spearstaff was ready in his hands. (I haven't drawn Scorpio's new armor, since the one I first drew him with sucked when I created him. So just your imagination here.) 

Malice stared at them coldly. "Are you ready now?"

Scorpio's answer was a fist to the face. Malice stagger back and punched back, getting Scorpio under the chin. The Warrior did a front snap kick and sent the Guardian flying back. Malice flipped over twice and came back full speed, elbowing Scorpio under the torso. He grabbed the Warrior by his helmet and threw him across the wooded area. At the same time Snow dropped in on him from above. Malice flipped Snow over him, but Snow grabbed his wrist and brought him down just as fast. 

Malice suppressed a slight groan, and Snow moved away quickly. He joined Scorpio's side and the two waited to see if there were any other moves the Guardian was going to make.

The blow came, fast and quickly. The two were thrown back several feet apart. Each hit a tree full force. Snow hit the three backwards, the blow stunning him, as Scorpio hit a tree sideways. Both crashed to the ground, and breathed heavily as they struggled to their feet again, ready to fight. This time they were ready to use their surekills.

They never got the chance. Malice raised his sword outward and began swinging it up and down in a left and right motion, finally the arc of flight got wider and he cried, "Pain of Fright!" 

Both of them screamed in terror. Snow saw a horrible vision of his tribe being attacked by the rival tribe, he also saw slavery, horrible people who captured his people and used them cruelly. Scorpio's vision was frightening as well. He saw himself drowning with every sea creature dying around him. Both collapsed to the ground, screaming in terror, sweat drenching off their heads, and their bodies shaking.

Malice cracked an evil grin. He went to Snow first and suddenly connected his fist to the boy's forehead, knocking him out cold. He moved onto Scorpio and slammed his face into the tree, knocking him out as well. He dragged Scorpio by his helmet over to Snow, then grabbed Snow by the wrist. A black hole appeared in the sky, and the Guardian went through, taking his prizes with him.

Kento let out a sigh as he scanned the area. They had finally come to a small restaurant where they could buy some food and rest and think things through. The day at the Airport had been a hectic one, and they had barely managed to escape the News people. Now here they were, sitting at a booth table, and he was waiting for the waitress to bring back their meals.

"Where is she?" he muttered.

"Kento, be patient," Rowen said. "The food will get here."

Kento didn't respond. Instead he glanced off toward Ryo. The bearer of Wildfire had a serious yet soft expression to his face. One could tell he was thinking of something. Cye himself was busy looking at the menu, probably trying to see if he could up with new ideas with the recipes already listed there. Sage was sitting back with his arms folded, his eyes (er: eye) closed. It almost was if he were asleep. Rowen was busy reading a book an intense look on his face. And Flash was using the phone that was attached to their booth. During the walk to the restaurant Flash had been quiet. She had walked quickly down the roads, with them nearly jogging to keep up with her. Kento had suggested they used their subarmor to do so, and Ryo nearly tackled him for it. Now here they were, waiting for their food, and all thinking in the back of their minds of the battle to come. Would it be the same as their battle with Talpa? Or would it be easier? Would they lose someone they held dear to? 

Flash got through to the Japanese operator and began to speak. After a few minutes she was connected to the place she wanted. She switched to English. "Master Chinook. Yeah, it's me. I'm fine. Yes, I know. I've been sensing it since yesterday. What?! Thunder's missing?! For how long? Since 4 P.M. your time? The others went to look for him? Yes, I know. Alright. I'll be there when I can. I'm bringing help with me. See you soon. Bye."

Flash hung up and they all stared at her. Kento had a look of confusion on his face, while Ryo, Rowen, and Sage stared with a serious, determined look on their faces. Cye had a worried expression on his.

"Flash?" Ryo said quietly. "What happened?"

She looked him in the eye, glanced at all of them. "It's of my friends, Thunder, he went for a walk around 4P.M. eastern standard time, and he hasn't come back since. The others are looking for him, and so far nothing's been found of him." She shook her head and stared at the table, worriedly. "This is very bad."


	13. Chapt. 13

United Forces ****

United Forces

The sequel to The Power

Chapt. 13.

Shades' eyes opened and the first thing she noticed was that she was totally alone in a darkened room. She felt her arms stretched above her, and tried pulling them down, only to hear a metal clanking and to have them jerked back up. Her eyes narrowed angrily. "Great! Just what I needed!!" She growled angrily and yanked against the chains as hard as she could. But it was no use. She was stuck. Another thought entered her mind. Chilie. Where was Chilie? She glanced around in the pitch blackness. "Chilie," she called out softly. The only sound was her voice echoing in the room. Either Chilie was unconscious, or she wasn't there. She let out another sigh again, just as a door opened somewhere way below. Shades shut her eyes at the brightness, then reopened them. She found herself to be staring at Tutock.

"You!!!" she growled angrily.

Tutock's lips turned into a cruel smile. "Well, it's good to see you have finally awakened, Ataxia. You're not too comfortable are you?"

"Fuck off!" she snarled.

Tutock cocked an eyebrow. "Still have that temper do you? Well, it won't help you. I have captured you, Storm, Heart, Hail, and Current. And I will get the others soon. And as for Firestarter…" he paused to add effect… "consider her dead." 

Shades spit at him, missing him by an inch. Tutock smirked at her, and pointed to the diamond jewel within the dragon's forehead. And then suddenly Shades screamed in pain.

Scorpio was trying to figure out what had happened. He knew he was a prisoner, that he was alone, and that somehow both he and Snow had been captured. But where was Snow? He glanced around the darkened room, frowned. It was so dark in here. It was like he was suspended above a bottomless pit. He kept calm, but the temptation to panic was slightly rising. No. He wouldn't do that. He would stay calm and figure a way out of this mess. 

The light suddenly came to life and he closed his eyes against the brightness.

"Good to see you're awake, boy."

His eyes snapped open, and he stared down in surprise. "Tutock!"

Tutock laughed evilly. "Enjoying your stay, boy?"

"Actually, I prefer the beach."

"Silence!!"

Scorpio cocked an eyebrow as if saying, 'why are you telling me what to do?' But he kept silent, knowing that Tutock could torture him painfully and that there wouldn't be anything he could do about it. He kept his mouth shut.

"That's better," Tutock approved. Scorpio bit down on his tongue, keeping himself from saying what he would end up regretting. He let out a sigh.

"As you may know, I am holding you and four of your prisoners."

Scorpio glared at him as Tutock gave a cold, cruel smile. "They are enjoying their stay here. Especially Storm."

"You filthy monster!!!"

Tutock's laughter echoed off the wall. "He was easy to capture. In fact he never even struggled." 

Scorpio continued to glare angrily at him. The anger was rising. He wanted to smack that smirk right off his face, and shove it down his throat.

"In fact, he is enjoying himself right now as I speak," Tutock continued. "Just as you will enjoy yourself." He pointed to the diamond jewel in the dragon's forehead, and Scorpio was suddenly surrounded by incredible pain. Tutock laughed wickedly as the boy's screams echoed off the walls. "Enjoy your stay, Current!!" And with that he left, leaving Scorpio with his tortured agony.

The Ronins, Flash, White Blaze, and Blaze traveled down the deserted road. All of them were running very fast, and Flash kept her pace low so they could keep up. She was worried about her friends, and wanted to get to America as fast as she could. She knew that Tutock would have her friends killed if she didn't save them. 

Her eyes narrowed suddenly. "I swear if Tutock hurt any of them, he'll pay!!"

"And we'll back you up!" Ryo promised as they ran.

Flash only nodded as she went through several plans in her head. She would get back to America, check with Chinook, and save the others. And then she brightened. "At least I don't have to worry about Thunder getting killed."

"Why do you say that?" Cye asked in confusion.

"Because, Thunder can't be killed by violence. Everytime he got injured really bad in a battle, he never died. Just lapses into a coma. They keep trying to kill him, but he doesn't die."

Sage thought that was odd. How could someone not die? It was impossible. Wasn't it?

"Hey, let's stop talking about this, and get there already!" Kento said impatiently.

Rowen had to smile. Kento always loved a good fight, but you could tell the Chinese Ronin's heart was huge. "Kento's right. Hey, look!" 

Everyone followed his look to see an abandoned ship just sitting near the dock at a huge amount of water.

"The Pacific Ocean!" Ryo exclaimed.

"Alright!!" Flash cried. "That's our ticket to America!" She ran down the hill toward the boat with the others right behind her.

Within minutes all of them were on the boat. Cye looked around and got the boat started as the rest of them found places to sit down.

"Everyone ready?" Cye asked. They all nodded firmly, and Cye drove the boat across the ocean, heading for America as Rowen navigated.


	14. Chapt. 14

United Forces ****

United Forces.

Sequel to The Power

Chapt. 14

Thunder could barely lift his head. The pain he had received was so intense, it was as if his entire body had been literally stretched apart by the muscles. All he knew was pain and hunger and loneliness. Vaguely he was aware of the other Warriors being held somewhere in the dungeon. He knew they were feeling the same things he was. He weakly lifted his head and stared through the inky blackness. He closed his eyes and focused. A lightning bolt appeared on his forehead. Knowledge!

A vision filled in his mind. He saw Flash and with her five boys. He had no idea who these boys were, but he knew they were the same age as he and the other Warriors were. And he also sensed a power coming from each of them. He began to look deeper, to find out this power.

And then suddenly pain lanced through his body and he cried out in pain.

"Now, now, Storm. None of that!!" 

Thunder lifted his eyes to view his enemy. Tutock sneered up at him as the Guardian Razor appeared beside him. 

"Enjoying your stay, Storm?" the Guardian asked coolly. 

Thunder's eyes narrowed angrily, but he dared not to struggle. He needed to keep his strength. He knew Flash was on her way and apparently the boys with her were going to help. 

Tutock's eyes flashed as he smiled at the young boy. "It appears our young guest has lost his will to fight, eh, Razor?"

"Yes, my lord. Perhaps I will be permitted to play with him for awhile?"

Tutock shook his head. "It is not needed, yet." His eyes took on a hard cold look, and Thunder glared angrily as Tutock stared into that one visible eye. At times Tutock wondered why he kept the right eye hidden. Had the boy lost it? Was it a different color? Who knew? And who cared?

Razor nodded, staring up at the boy with exceeding hatred. The desire to torture was pleasant to him.

"Come, Razor!" Tutock ordered impatiently. Razor followed him out, and once again, Thunder was left alone in the darkness. He opened up the Warriors mind link, and began to call to the other Warriors. 'Scorpio?'

'Thunder, it hurts. It's too much!' the Scandinavian's voice came back.

'I know, but Flash is on her way.'

'Flash is coming!' Snow said despite his pain. 'I knew it!' 

'Good! And I want to see her kick Talpa's ass!' Shades exclaimed. 

'She's bringing five guys with her,' Thunder reported.

They were all surprised about that. Why would Flash be bringing people with her. Was she crazy? But then, they erased the thoughts from their heads. Flash was their leader. They would trust her.

'So are the guys cute?' Chilie asked innocently.

All the Warriors groaned. 'What?' Chilie asked.

'Chil, you are impossible!' Shades said.

'Thank you.'

Ryo let out a silent sigh as the boat continued to carry them across the ocean. Everyone was asleep now, and he was keeping watch. He looked down toward Flash. She was lying next to Blaze, with her head propped up on his massive side. The wolf's left paw was wrapped around the girl, almost protectively, it seemed. 

Ryo watched her face. She looked like an angel, he reflected. A beautiful angel, made only more beautiful the way the moon reflected off her face. How he wanted to just lean forward and take those lips against his own, to send sparks of fire shivering through her body. He wanted to hold her close, feel her against him, he wanted to touch and caress her. 

The wind blew softly as he looked up at the star-field sky. But does she feel the same way about me? he wondered. What if she denies me after this? I wouldn't bear it! 

The boat continued on as Ryo kept these thoughts in his head. Slowly the sun began to rise, and Ryo lifted his eyes. They slowly widened as it took in the familiar golden bridge of San Francisco and the ports of California harbors.

"Guys!!" Ryo cried, his voice startling them awake.

"What is it?!" Rowen screeched. It was rather surprising to see him wake this early. Sage looked ready for a fight as did Kento, and Cye was glancing cautiously around. All he saw was ocean and…

"The Golden Bridge!" Flash cried out elatedly.

Ryo stared in awe as the boat continued. "We made it!! We made it to America!!


	15. Chapt. 15

**United Forces**

Sequel to the Power

Chapt. 15.

The boat came to shore and the teenagers stepped off. The wind blew softly, but each of them could feel the overwhelming presence of evil. Flash scowled angrily as she started walking eastward. The Ronins followed her. Ryo glanced at the sky with a frown. Flash noticed it.

"The sky always turns red when he comes," she said angrily. "It's like his signature."

"Sounds like Talpa in a way," Ryo replied. "Except when he comes the sky turns black."

Flash nodded, but kept on walking. She wanted to get to Chinook as soon as possible. She had a feeling that something dreadful was going to happen if she didn't get there in time, and it was all she could do to keep herself from running.

Cye sensed her feelings. "Something's wrong isn't it?" he asked worriedly.

Flash was silent, the feeling inside was growing stronger. And then suddenly her forehead started glowing. A flame appeared in her forehead, flaring brightly. Faith. The Ronins stared in shock, and Cye backed away, fearing she was going to cause a fire. Her eyes narrowed. "Come on!!" she said, and raced off, with Blaze at her side. The Ronins and their tiger followed as quickly as they could.

Chinook grimaced as he slammed his blooming staff against another soldierknight. One down. There was so many of them. He sensed a fist heading for his midsection and blocked it. One quick movement, and the soldierknight was gone. How long could he keep this up? he wondered. He suddenly ducked from a flying ninja star, and avoided a strike. His staff flew outward, catching the soldierknight right in the forehead. It fell to the ground, completely destroyed.

But more soldiers came at him. He knew he could not keep up for much longer. And then suddenly a bunch of arrows shot around him, catching the soldierknights off guard. They fell to the ground lifeless. Chinook looked in relief. "Ah, T-boz. Ice!"

"Time to go down, ya uglies!!" Ice cried. He grabbed a soldier and twirled it around his head, then threw it at several more soldierknights. He leapt high into the air, and finished them off with spearsword.

T-boz stayed near Chinook, protecting him. When a soldierknight got too close, she shot an arrow, and it went down, eliminated. The battle went on, as more soldierknights appeared. Chinook was worried. How long would his students be able to hold up. Sure, he had taught them endurance, but even endurance can give out after awhile. And because they were inside the mansion, they couldn't call their surekills, otherwise, the whole place would crash down on them.

Ice punched another soldier out, and T-boz kicked one into the wall. The battle continued with no sign of relenting. And then finally, it was over. All the soldiers were gone.

The two Warriors disarmored. 

"That was fun," Ice said as he flexed a muscle.

T-boz looked toward Chinook. "Are you alright, Master Chinook?"

Chinook smiled. "I am fine. I am just glad you two are all right."

"We came back because the others didn't meet us at our meeting place," T-boz explained. Her voice softened. "We didn't find Thunder."

Chinook frowned. "And if the others didn't meet you, then I fear the same thing has happened to them."

"You're right, old man!" came a mocking voice.

"Karma!"

More evil laughter.

Ice glared in every direction. "Hey, come on out, you snake! We know you're here somewhere!"

The lights suddenly went out, and the three of them huddled together, facing outward. Where was he? It was so dark and quiet. And then suddenly they heard a hissing sound. Each of them leapt away from the hissing sound, avoiding it.

There was a loud bang, and then laughter. Chinook flew back, slamming his back against the metal plate of the fireplace. He grimaced with pain, and struggled to get up. The lights came back on, but Ice and T-boz were nowhere to be seen.

He slammed his fist against the floor. "No!! How could I? I failed to save them!" Tears blurred his vision, but he quickly wiped them away. He heard the front door open, but he didn't look up.

"Master Chinook?"

He looked up, and his eyes brightened. "Flash!" 

She smiled and helped him to his feet. They hugged, and she stepped back. "I felt it in Japan. "Where are the others?"

He looked down, ashamed. "I am afraid Tutock has them all."

Flash's eyes flashed angrily, but she remained calm. She gestured toward the Ronins. "Master Chinook, these are my friends from Japan, the ones I was staying with. That's Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Cye, and Kento, and White Blaze."

Chinook bowed in respect to them, and they returned it. Chinook gazed at Sage for the longest time. Sage stared back, almost wondering why he was being looked at like that.

Chinook sighed. "Ah, forgive me. You resemble my student, Thunder."

Sage blinked, and Flash explained. "You look like Thunder." She pointed to a picture of Thunder dressed in Kendo gear, sitting on the mantle.

Sage peered at the photograph, with a surprised look on his face. The boy had blond hair, his eyes light blue, and his left eye was covered. They did look similar, but Sage could tell the boy's hair was slightly longer and differently styled from his.

Flash turned to Chinook. "Master Chinook, I am going after my friends. These five here, joined, because they bear mystical armor as well. They wanted to help."

Chinook nodded. "Yes, I sensed that about them. But you must all be careful. Tutock will try anything he can to gain a victory."

"We've handled difficult odds before, Master Chinook," Ryo said. White Blaze rumbled in agreement.

"I just got one question," Kento asked. "If this Tutock lives in a netherworld, how are we going to get there?"

Flash smiled as she felt around Blaze's neck, reaching deep into his fur. She found what she was looking for and brought it out. "With this."

The five of them stared in surprise. It was a large pure white crystal that hung on a pure white golden chain. It sparkled with a thousand colors.

"What's that?" Ryo wanted to know.

"This," Flash explained, "will help us to get into Tophet. Once Blaze uses it, we're in."

"Wait a minute," Rowen said, "Blaze has to do it? Why can't anyone else?"

"Because, Blaze is the only able to wield the crystal," Chinook said. "It was given to him when the Warriors were first coming together. Only he can control it."

Rowen nodded in understanding.

"It reminds me of the Jewel of Life," Cye said softly.

"Jewel of Life?"

Ryo pulled it out, and Flash and Chinook gazed at it. It was seashell shaped and sparkled with a might of its own.

"I sense power from this jewel," Chinook said. He looked at his student. "Flash, the others don't have much time left. Thunder will not die, but the others I am afraid for."

Flash nodded seriously. "We're going now, Master Chinook. Blaze!"

The wolf stepped forward and closed his eyes. The crystal around his neck flared to life, glowing a sky blue color. Another crystal, smaller, appeared around Chinook's neck.

The Ronins' mouths all dropped open, as Chinook inspected the crystal. 

"Thank you, Blaze." He pat the large wolf on the head, and the wolf bowed. He stepped back and turned away from the group. His eyes closed again, and once more the crystal flared to life. A light appeared in the room, and covered the six teenagers, the tiger, and himself. In a blink of an eye, they were gone.

Chinook polished the crystal, and it sparkled. He gazed at the empty spot where they had just stood only seconds ago. 

"Take care my student, and her new friends. Take care."


	16. Chapt. 16

**United Forces**

The Sequel to The Power

Chapt 16. 

Ryo glanced around and immediately plugged his nose. The stench of this place was awful! It was as if he was standing in a cemetery with hundreds of dead bodies laid out before him. He felt as if he couldn't breathe, and for one second he was sure he was going to faint. He felt strange too, extremely sad in fact, and he felt lost and hopeless. What was this! He couldn't move! What was happening? Where were Sage, Cye, Kento, Rowen, Flash?! White Blaze and Blaze? Where are they all? He struggled against some unknown force and he felt his life sucking out of him.

SMACK!!!

Ryo's head snapped back as pain registered on his mind. Flash stared sadly back at him, and he regained his composure. He looked around seeing the other Ronins rubbing their faces. Apparently they had felt the same thing he felt, and even White Blaze was rubbing his face with his paw.

"Are you guys okay?" Flash asked in concerned.

"Ever than a burning cheek, I'd say we're all fine," Rowen replied.

"Sorry about that."

"What was that?" Ryo asked. "I have never felt anything like that in all my life. I thought I was dying."

Flash looked down. "In a way you were. If you let the misery get to you here, it'll suck your spirit right out of you, and your body will become a mindless corpse."

"You mean like a zombie?" Kento asked.

"No," Flash exclaimed patiently. "A zombie is a person that's died and their bodies raise up out of the ground to feed off living humans. These ones are different. They don't feed off living humans. They drain their energy and try to steal their souls so they can live again."

"So what are they called?" Rowen asked.

"Once a person has lost their spirit here due to the misery they are known as Soul Snatchers, or Soliothifs."

Cye paled and Flash looked at him and the rest of the sternly. "Whatever you do don't let the misery overwhelm you. It's a very bad thing. Know there are Tophetian Spirits here, and be careful they do not possess you."

"What would happen if they do?" Sage asked.

"You'd do whatever they want."

"Just great," Kento muttered.

"Is there a way to keep from being possessed?"

"Actually, no," Flash said. "But don't worry. "I'm a demonspirit slayer. I can get into your possessed body and kill the spirit that's possessing you, thus freeing you."

"So that's what happened when those Netherspirits tried to possess you that one time," Ryo said.

Flash nodded and started walking. The Ronins followed her, and realized she was following Blaze. 

"I prefer we talk and walk at the same time," Flash exclaimed. "I can explain everything as we do."

The Ronins nodded, and she began to explain. "As you know I already said Tutock is equal to ten Talpas. Truth be told, if one of you had magical or sorcerer powers, he would be able to turn them against you. And if he wanted to, if you didn't have the spirit of the armor protecting you, he could just point at you and you would be dead less than a microsecond."

The Ronins gulped, and she continued on. "He has a hidden video camera in the center of this realm that records everything happening. In order to destroy it, an arrow must be used."

Everyone glanced at Rowen who nodded his head thoughtfully. "Just where would it be?" he asked.

"It's on a water fountain that we'll be coming to soon. Aim at the jewel on the front of it, striking it straight in the center. That'll destroy all the cameras hidden in this place."

"You don't think he's watching us right now, do you?" Cye asked worriedly.

"Most likely he is, which is why I want all of us to be on our guard."

And they were. They continued walking over a long dusty hill, trying their best not to let the misery get to them. It wasn't easy, but then they remembered their promise to Flash, and were determined to help save her friends.

Thunder was resting against his chains with his eyes closed. His body was still wracking with pain and he sensed the other Warriors were in the same condition. Each of them were trying to be strong, but it was not easy. Still they refused to give up hope.

He licked his dried parched lips and wished in vain for some water. He was so thirsty. He could probably drink a whole lake by himself. He worried about Scorpio. The Current Bearer needed water more than he did as he was linked to the water by his armor. If he was dehydrated he wouldn't be able to call on his armor, and that worried him greatly. 

He opened his eyes and stared down, and saw a jug of cold water down below him. Thunder frowned. It figured that only Tutock would do something as cruel as that. He closed his eyes and ignored it. And then his symbol flared to life on his head. Knowledge His eyes snapped open and he let out a shout for joy. Flash was here!

T-boz heard Thunder's cry for joy, as her own symbol flared to life on her forehead. Hope. And she smiled even though she in pain. She knew Flash would come. She always knew. And once again it would be time to kick Tutock butt.

Ice grinned happily as his symbol appeared on his forehead. Equity. "Whoohoo!!" he cried as he sensed Flash getting closer.

Chilie's symbol appeared on her forehead. Love. She smiled happily and began praising God. Flash was here! Flash was here! 

Scorpio's eyes opened weakly as he felt his symbol flaring to life on his forehead. Forgiveness. Hurry Flash. He closed his eyes again, feeling incredibly weak.

Shades' symbol glowed brightly on her forehead and she let out a grin. Mercy. It was about time she got here. Now it was time to kick some Tutock butt!

Snow's symbol glowed brightly on his forehead. Allegiance. He grinned. Tutock was going down!

Blaze stopped just over the hill and stared down toward a beautiful white water fountain. The Ronins stared at it, mesmerized by it. It was as if it was made of the finest porcelain all handcrafted by hand.

Cye stared as the water, the purest blue water he had ever seen pour out of it. His eyes widened.

Flash saw him looking and he knew what he was thinking. "Cye, don't get near the fountain, period. It has a deadly poison that could kill you quickly."

Cye gulped and nodded. Flash looked at Rowen. "Now, Rowen."

Rowen drew an arrow and cocked it on his bow. He pulled the string back and aimed for that jewel. He released the arrow and watched as it traveled in a straight line. It struck the center of the jewel, shattering it. All of them covered their ears as a strange shattering noise filled the area.

When it was over, they uncovered their ears.

"Is that it?" Ryo asked.

Flash turned to look at him and shake her head. "No, Ryo. This is only the beginning." 


	17. Chapt. 17

**United Forces**

Chapt. 17. 

The small army gradually moved forward as Blaze led them onward toward Tutock's castle. There was a stickiness in the air, that none of them liked, but each one refused to give into the power of this place. 

Flash was moving quickly, stealthy like a tiger stalking its prey in the night. Not one sound came from her. Ryo watched her from the corner of his eyes, impressed. He was moving just as silently as she was. 

Suddenly she stopped and held still.

"Why'd ya stop?" Kento wanted to know. He looked around and saw nothing. Sage couldn't see anything, but he could sense it. "On your guard, guys," he said quietly.

Flash was glaring around her, turning so fast she looked like a blur of blended colors. "COME OUT, GUARDIAN!! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!!!"

Her voice echoed throughout Tophet, and then suddenly a Guardian appear. His blue and yellow striped armor clearly recognizable. He smirked at her. "Firestarter, how could have to come!! And I see you've brought company! Five males! Haha! Have you been sleeping with them?"

Flash glared at him angrily, ready to toast him for that remark. Sage's mouth dropped, Cye gasped, Kento crossed his arms with a 'harumph!', Rowen just stared in shock, and Ryo glared angrily at the Guardian.

"No, I'm not sleeping with them, if it's any of your business, which it's not!" Flash took a menacing step toward Cain. "Now, let my friends go right now!"

Cain smiled wickedly. "And why would Master Tutock do that? If you want them so bad, go and get them. They're waiting for you…..," he paused for dramatic effort. "To join them! And your boyfriends over there can join you as well." He laughed.

Ryo glared and went to go after him. "LET ME AT HIM!! I'll kill him for that remark!! 

"Ryo, cool it!" Rowen pleaded as he and Kento tried holding the fiery leader back. White Blaze pressed against Ryo's waist, trying to help keep him back.

Cain only laughed louder. "Such a temper!! Did your mommy raise you like that?" he sneered again, only increasing Ryo's anger.

Cye was worried, and he kept glancing back and forth, wonder what to do, what to say. They didn't know this enemy, and Ryo was letting his anger get to him. What was Flash doing? Was she just going to stand there all day and do absolutely nothing?

Flash held up a hand. "Hold up, Ryo. I got this," she said with a smirk. Ryo calmed down which relieved Kento, Rowen, and White Blaze. All of them watched her, wondering what she was about to do.

"So, Cain, you done insulting me and my friends?"

Cain smirked and laughed. "Not quite, Firestarter! You know something, you look like your mother. Completely hideous!!"

"Yeah?" Flash retorted. "Well, your mother is so stupid it takes her an hour to cook Minute Rice!"

Cain glared. "Your mother was so fat when the mortals drive around her they found themselves in the next city!"

Flash was undaunted. "Your mother's so fat she fell and got stuck in the Grand Canyon."

The Ronins mouths dropped open with surprise. Was this Flash doing this? Kento felt a little offended because he was overweight, but he waited to see what Flash was up to. (A.N: I am not against overweight people. My best friend is overweight. Just wanted to clear that up. Also Flash is doing this on purpose. You'll see why.)

White Blaze watched the two back and forth. He looked at Blaze. _What is she doing_? he asked.

__

She's getting him angry. Cain likes to insult his enemies, but doesn't like to be insulted back. If she gets him angry enough, she'll defeat him. 

White Blaze turned back to the insulting warriors, wondering how.

"Man, this is intense," Kento said quietly.

"I never knew Flash could have such a vicious voice on her. I mean is it really necessary to assault a mother?" Cye asked.

"Hey, he insulted her mother first, Cye, and her mother was killed," Ryo reminded him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Cye turned to Flash and Cain as it got more intense with each insult. Finally she delivered a powerful one.

"You know what, Cain, when your mother was born, the doctors took one look and RAN!!"

Cain glared at her. He screamed in rage and charged at her, his numchucks flying in the air. Flash took one step back, then brought her right leg up high into the air, catching him under his chin and sending him backward.

He rolled twice on the ground and attacked blindly. Flash kept dodging, jabbing, punching, hitting, and kicking. She called to the others. "Follow Blaze and he'll lead you to my friends!"

"Will you be okay?" Ryo asked.

"Yep!" Flash replied as she flipped Cain over her shoulder again.

Ryo nodded, then turned as Blaze suddenly went off again. He followed the large overgrown wolf with White Blaze at his right side, Rowen on his left, and Cye and Kento and Sage behind them. 

Blaze led them through what appeared as a desert, and they quickly followed his steps, seeing how he jumped from here to there. Not sure why he was doing that, there was no way they were going to take any chances.

Ryo was worried though. He was so absorbed into his thoughts, he didn't watch where he was going. He stepped on some loose sand, which quickly began to sink beneath him. A pale greyish hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his ankle, squeezing it like a vise grip.

"Augh!" Ryo yelled, trying to kick it away.

Rowen turned his head and gasped as he ran over. "Ryo! Hang on, buddy!" He wrapped his arms around Ryo and tried to pull, while Kento tried to kick the hand away. The hand stayed there, constantly having a tug of war with Rowen. Sage and Cye came and tried to help pull Ryo free. 

But the hand stayed attached to Ryo's ankle and was steadily drawing him closer. Ryo struggled and kicked with all his might, but the hand was too strong. 

White Blaze swiped at the hand with his claws, but it was as if the hand never felt it. By now Ryo's ankle was swollen and bruised, and was slowly beginning to bleed.

"Let him go!!" Rowen cried as he tugged Ryo with Sage's and Cye's help.

"Now!" Kento hollered as he continued kicking the hand.

Blaze suddenly came back and touched the hand with the glowing crystal around his neck. There was a sound that resembled a horrifying screeching as the hand suddenly let go and slithered away back under ground. 

Ryo let out a huge sigh of relief, then felt an incredible warmness in his ankle. At first he thought it was bleeding badly, until he looked down.

Blaze held the crystal against his ankle, and it was completely healed, as if the incident had never occurred to begin with. Ryo was astounded. He stood up. "Thanks, Blaze," he said.

Blaze nodded his head, then turned and headed off.

"That there is one smart wolf," Rowen said as they followed him. 

"Yeah, I know," Ryo replied. "Like White Blaze."

They continued on, occasionally running into danger here and there. They were attacked by soldierknights. And this time there were more then there had been on the plane.

"Great," Rowen said, as he found their number.

"How many?" Ryo asked.

"Two hundred million."

Sage's, Kento's, and Cye's mouths all dropped open. "Can we handle that many at once?" Cye worried.

"Relax, Cye!" Kento said brightly. "We can take these iron heads, no problem!"

"Just stay focused you guys, and keep together," Sage advised.

"Ronin Warriors to arms! Armor of Wildfire! Dao Jin!"

"Armor of Strata! Dao Inochi!"

"Armor of Halo! Dao Chi!"

"Armor of Hardrock! Dao Gi!"

"Armor of Torrent! Dao Shin!"

The flowered wallpaper and the cherryblossoms surrounded them in spectral of light and power. The armors formed over their subarmors, and their helmets appeared, and were put over their heads, then came their weapons. The five stood there in full armor, waiting. The battle had just began.

Several soldiers attacked. Ryo weaved through them like a buzzsaw, cutting them down with his swords. One soldier attacked him from behind, but he dodged, and made a quick sweep of his sword sideways and behind him, and right through the soldierknight's head. 

Cye knocked at least three soldierknights away, then kicked one into another's spear. He suddenly stole another soldierknight's weapon, and used it against them. 

Rowen was firing several arrows at a time. More like three hundred and fifty at the same time. He was careful not to hurt his friends, striking at only the soldierknights, watching them crumple down to practically nothing. 

Sage swung his sword left and right as he moved gracefully through the attacking soldiers. A blow suddenly caused him to land on his back, but his sword quickly deflected a death blow that had been aimed for him. He made good use of his foot, and sent the soldierknight flying backward, right into Ryo's blades. Sage leapt to his feet and attacked another soldierknight, taking off its head with one single swipe.

Kento was having a blast and laughing through the whole battle. He was using his weapon like a regular baseball bat, sending the soldierknights flying several miles into the air, then he'd watch as they drop back down to the ground and quickly take them out. 

"These guys don't seem so tough to me!" he said as he dodged a strike, and took off the arm of another.

"You're right, they don't," Ryo said.

"Cool it, Ryo," Rowen warned. "This might just be the tip of the iceberg. This Tutock might have soldiers more powerful than these ones!"

Cye kicked a soldierknight several feet back, then smashed the face of another one in. "Do you think they're just trying to tire us out?" he asked.

"That's possible," Sage relied as he struck two soldierknights down at the same time. "But we have to stay awake and alert!"

Ryo sent four more soldierknights crumbling. More attacked. "Man, this doesn't end! That's it!" He brought his swords together and twirled them around as he suddenly leapt high into the air. "FLARE UP NOW!!!!!!!" 

The power of the surekill suddenly went out, and at least four hundred soldierknights were destroyed.

"Alright, now you're talking, my man!" Kento began to twirl his weapon around steadily and quickly. "IRON ROCK CRUSHER!!"

The ground shook violently as it came apart. Pieces of large debris flew at the soldierknights, destroying them as they went right through.

Sage held his sword high above his head. "THUNDER BOLT CUT!!!" He suddenly brought his sword down and out before him as he quickly leaped into the air. The surekill went out in a dazzling scene of light, and more soldierknights were suddenly vanquished. 

Rowen held a single arrow back on the nock of his bow, letting the energy build until he felt it was powerful enough to release. "ARROW SHOCK WAVE!!" He let the arrow go, and it traveled as the power and light build increasingly. More than 300 hundred soldiers were destroyed on impact. 

Cye held his Yari out in front of him, letting the energy flow. "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!!!" A huge blast of water suddenly forced its way out and impaled at least 200 soldiers, rusting them and causing them to become completely eliminated. 

White Blaze attacked viciously himself, taking down at least five soldierknights at a time. Blaze attacked several more, causing them to be nothing more than recycled tin cans.

The battle continued on as they fought for their lives. One question plagued Ryo's mind though. Was Flash all right?


	18. Chapt. 18

****

United Forces

Chapt. 18

Flash smirked at the anger Cain was giving off. They were in full force battle now, each one trying their best to defeat the other, and the Guardian had yet to injure her as she was moving too fast for him to see.

"Blasted! Fight like a man!"

Flash laughed, almost mockingly. "Fight like a man? Why would I want to do that for? This is way much more fun. Or do you mean for me to surrender myself and let you kick the crap out of me? Well, if that's the case, I don't think so." With a sudden front snap kick to the chest, she sent Cain flying several feet backward. The Guardian tumbled to the ground and rolled several times, before he skidded to a stop a half mile away. He slammed his fists into the ground angrily, and leapt to his feet.

Flash stood there, unmoving, watching his every move. "Ready to play more?" 

Cain let out a scream of rage as he leapt to his feet and made ready to attack her as he reached out with his hands.

Flash suddenly grabbed them both at the same time, holding them tightly. She raised her knee and slammed it into his torso, causing him to groan with pain as his front half dropped over. She grabbed him by the shoulder and suddenly threw him over her shoulder where he crashed hard into the ground with a deep painful groan.

Flash stood over him, watching him. She knew if she let her guard down there might be a chance he would attack unexpectedly. Cain made no move though. She carefully stepped out around him, and just when he was about to lash out, she gave him another good kick, sending him into unconsciousness.

Flash stood quietly for a moment and looked up, her cerulean eyes narrowed as she thought. And then suddenly she became a burst of speed, traveling at least 2000 mph, heading eastward.

Tutock sat grinning, watching his tortured prisoners scream their agony. Any moment and Flash would be there. Only this time, he wouldn't play stupid. This time, he would have her begging for mercy as he wrapped his fingers around her throat, choking her slowly, causing her to feel pain, more than she ever had before in her entire lifetime. Then he would drain her energy and feed upon it, and become more powerful than ever in his life, and with this power he would rule the entire universe, and every living being would bow and serve him, and those that wouldn't, would be forced, and those that couldn't be forced would be destroyed. His laughter rang through out the castle.

Blaze came to a stop before a wide ravine. White Blaze stood beside him, over looking it. He looked at the wolf. _Why are we stopping here?_

Tutock's castle is on the other side, about five miles from here. We're going to cross.

And just how are we going to do that?" White Blaze asked him. 

The wolf merely smiled as the Ronins began to wonder if there was another way across.

"There's gotta be a bridge around here!" Kento muttered.

"They wouldn't be that dumb to leave a bridge up, Kento," Rowen reasoned. "They probably use something else to get back and forth."

"Maybe this ravine is not open like this all the way," Ryo suggested as he looked up and down. "Maybe there's a land bridge somewhere around here that they use."

Rowen shook his head. "That would be like with the bridge, Ryo."

Ryo looked at him, raising a dark eyebrow curiously. 

"Then how do they get across?" Cye asked.

Sage was the first to notice the light blue glow coming from Blaze. His eyes widen as he saw the glow light up to reveal a bridge they hadn't seen before. Blaze suddenly darted across the bridge with White Blaze following behind him. Sage ran after them unaware the others weren't following them.

"I don't know," Rowen said with a deep sigh. "All I know is…" he suddenly stopped as he saw the bridge with Blaze, and White Blaze, and Sage all running across it. "Now how did that get here?!" he cried out with shock.

"It doesn't matter!" Ryo said as he noticed it as well. He ran across the bridge, and then Rowen followed, then Cye, and finally Kento.

Once on the other side, the crystal around the wolf's neck stopped glowing, and the bridge vanished from their sight. Rowen puzzled over that, but he figured there would be more time to learn about it. Right now they had to find Flash's friends, and hopefully Flash herself.

Blaze led them clear across the land as they struggled to keep up with his speed. Even White Blaze seemed to be having a difficult time. And then the wolf skidded to a stop, and narrowed his eyes. 

The Ronins came to a stop and watched as both White Blaze and Blaze began growling dangerously. They looked around them seeing nothing there at all, not even a sound. What was going on? And why were White Blaze and Blaze just standing there, growling off into space like that?

Kento hesitantly reached forward, but Rowen grabbed him back. "Wait, there's a reason they're growling like that." He summoned an arrow and cocked it on his bow, and then released it, sending it for the area the two large animals were growling at.

Spectrums of energy shot up and cackled and literally melt the arrow in into nothing as they stared in shock. The energy seemed to shoot right at them, causing the five and the tiger to scatter in opposite directions.

Blaze stood there. The moment the energy came at him, light flared from the crystal, hitting it. There was a loud explosion and a bright light which caused the Ronins to shield their eyes for a few moments, each thinking this was the end. However minutes passed, and they opened their eyes, to see a calm Blaze staring back at them, almost asking if they were coming or not. 

Ryo was amazed to say nonetheless. 

Blaze turned his head and suddenly took off again. White Blaze followed after him with the Ronins behind them. 

Blaze darted across a piece of landstrip, and as they followed, they could see a figure in the distance. As they got closer they could see who it was.

Ryo's face brightened happily as he ran faster the others. 

Flash looked up, and smiled a bit as they joined her. "Hi there."

"Flash, are you… are you okay?" Ryo asked between breaths.

Flash smiled brightly. "I'm fine. And you guys?"

"We're okay," Cye assured her. 

Flash nodded again and turned her head to gaze forward. The Ronins followed her look and discovered they were at a moat whose water looked as if it was made of blood. They saw a single island in the center of the moat with no ways to gain access to, and on that island was the strangest castle they had ever seen. It was taller than they blood red sky, rectangular shaped but upward it seemed to be rounded off into more of cylinder shaped. There were no windows and no doorways, and no telling just how high the castle went up, and it was completely surrounded by a forcefield.

"Now what?" Kento asked for them all.

Flash slowly turned as her eyes flashed. "We go in."


	19. Chapt. 19

****

United Forces

The Sequel to The Power

Chapt 19. 

Snow opened his eyes painfully as the torture seemed to stop. He let out a shaky breath and wondered just how much more he could take of this. He had already lost count how many times the force from the energy had knocked him out. He clung to the hope that Flash would soon be there. He bit his lip, then realized that was just adding more pain to his misery so he stopped. He tried to open up the mind link to talk to the other Warriors, but he was too weak. His head dropped to his chest and he became completely still.

How could anyone be this evil? he wondered miserably. He would have given anything to find himself back at home. He would have even rather be picked on by Marcus Dialanto, a boy at school who teased him constantly for having a high IQ. Anything other than this, would be better.

"Hurry, Flash," he whispered weakly.

Flash ran down the hall as the Ronins tried their best to keep up with her. They could hear terrible moans and groans, and the stench of death was in the air, burning their nostrils, making their skin crawl uneasily. Even through the armor they could feel the horribleness trying to get to them, to take them over completely. 

Flash's symbol was going off wildly as she made a sharp left turn. Immediately her fist connected with the face of a soldier knight, knocking it off its feet. The soldier knight crashed and broke right on the floor, releasing a dark eerie looking mist out of it, that slowly faded from view.

Suddenly Sage jerked violently, yelping in response. His eyes turned from violet to deep crimson red as his entire body began to shake violently.

The other Ronins stopped and stared in shock at their friend. Ryo was concerned. "S..Sage?"

Instead of answering, Sage let out a inhuman growl as he attacked them.

Ryo blocked him, in shock as he began backing up. "Sage, what's gotten into you?!" He blocked again, nearly getting his head cut off in the process. 

"SAGE!!" Rowen cried as he tried to grab his friend. Sage flipped Rowen over his shoulder with one hand, sending him crashing into Kento and Cye who fell hard onto the floor. He turned to Ryo and attacked again, making Ryo back up with each force of the blade.

"Sage!" Ryo tried again, grunting as he defended himself from the wild swordsman.

A cruel smile appeared on Sage's lips as he raised his sword for the final blow. Ryo's eyes widened with horror.

A flash of blue and white suddenly intercepted. Sage's sword flew from his hand and tumbled end over end in straight arc of descent. Sage scowled and glared murderously at Flash as he prepared to attack her with his bare hands. She was too quick. She placed one hand on his forehead, and another hand over his heart, staring deep into his eyes, sending him into trance. All time seemed to stopped as they stayed that way for several minutes.

"What is she doing?" Rowen asked quietly as he, Kento, and Cye had finally gotten their bearings and were now all watching this particular scene take place before their very eyes.

"She looks like she's hypnotizing him," Kento said softly. 

Ryo was still a bit shaky as he watched the whole thing. He had no idea what Flash was doing, but whatever it was she had stopped Sage from trying to kill him. But why had Sage attacked him? It didn't make any sense. Unless………

Sage suddenly blinked several times, his eyes going back to their normal violet color. He frowned in confusion as he continued to blink and look around uncomprehendingly. 

"Sage?" Rowen tried.

Sage blinked again and looked at Rowen. "Yeah?" he replied in his normal voice. 

They sighed in relief, and Ryo looked around for Flash. She was already heading off, following Blaze and White Blaze. They quickly caught up to her, and Ryo wanted to ask what she had done to Sage to help him, but felt it was not the time to do so. They were here to rescue her friends, and that was all.

Thunder cracked an eye open when the door to his cell opened. He shut his eyes against the brightness entering through the cell, and turned his head weakly away. Below him, grinning up at him with the intense thought of torturing running through his mind stood , Razor the Guardian of Despair. Silently he gazed up at the blond haired Warrior, Tutock's orders still fresh in his mind. He was to take Storm down from the Dragon's mouth and place him in the secret dungeon, where Firestarter would not be able to find him. As for the other Warriors they were to be killed.

Calmly, Razor walked forward, making no sound as he did so. He jumped into the air, landing next to the chained Warrior. 

"Your friend is here," he whispered coldly in Thunder's ears, "but she will not find you. Not even that stupid wolf will be able to find you. Tutock has a special plan for you." A smirk came to his lips. "And I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Thunder was silent and he made no move as he felt the Guardian unchaining him. Had he not been so weak, he would have kicked Razor out of his way and escaped. But he could barely even move, let alone think. 

As his second hand was released, he started to fall forward until Razor yanked him back by his hair. A small yelp echoed through his lips, and he sank to his knees. 

Razor stretched his arms painfully behind his back and bound them with chains, then flipped the boy over his shoulder and leapt down to the floor. He opened the door, preparing to leave, and met an armored fist connecting with his jaw.

He staggered back in surprise and hit the floor, Thunder landing nearly on top of him. Razor pushed the bound warrior away from him as he stared up at his assailant. It wasn't who he expected. 

"Who are you?!" he demanded to the warrior in the orange and brown armor. 

The warrior smirked. "The name is Kento of Hardrock."

Razor sneered as he leapt to his feet. "And do you dare oppose a Guardian of Tutock? You are mistaken, little fat man!"

Kento was offended. "Hey! I'm not fat! I'm just big boned!"

Razor laughed. "That's what they all say! Now if you want to live, boy, you'll back away while I take Storm out of here."

Kento looked past him at the still figure on the floor. His eyes narrowed, and even though he did not personally know the boy, but he could understand his pain and torment, and that set fire to the warrior of justice's heart. He glared up at Razor. "I don't think so," he said in a calm firm voice that could have frozen a hot spring.

Razor only laughed though. Do you dare try to stop me?!" With a scream of rage he charged at the warrior, wielding his sais expertly, forcing Kento to raise his staff to defend himself, and attack back.

Thunder's eyes opened weakly and he watched as the mysterious warrior protected him from Razor. Who was he? Wait, now he remembered. The vision he had earlier, that must be one of the boys. But where were the other four, and where was Flash? 

Kento suddenly slammed Razor against the wall, and brought his staff down on his helmet covered head, hard, cracking his helmet, then striking him again to knock him out. Razor slumped to the floor, motionless.

Kento turned back to the Warrior. "Oh good, you're awake. You okay, man?" he asked as he hurried over and broke the chains off. Thunder rubbed his wrists several times as Kento waited for a reply. And then suddenly Kento's eyes widened with surprise and shock as the boy in front of him began to glow red, a lightning bolt appearing brightly in his forehead. And then the boy's wounds seem to heal right there.

"You.. you're a healer?" Kento asked amazed. 

The boy looked up at him, and for one moment Kento thought he was seeing Sage. If it hadn't been for the fact this boy's left eye was covered, his eyes (eye) light blue, and his hair longer than Sage's he would have truly believed he was Sage. 

Thunder stood up, holding onto the wall for support. Despite the fact his wounds were gone, he was still weak from hunger and thirst. He couldn't remember the last time he had food or water. 

Kento frowned, concerned. "Hey, come on let me help you, okay?"

Thunder gratefully excepted as Kento began to lead them out of there.

"Wh.. where's Flash?" he asked weakly.

"She and my friends are getting the rest of your friends out. My name is Kento Rei Faun, or Kento of Hardrock."

Thunder managed a smile as Kento supported him through the halls. "My name is Thunder Copiel. Thunder of the Storm."


	20. Chapt. 20

****

United Forces.

The Sequel to The Power

Chapter 20.

Kento stayed by Thunder's side, supporting him through the halls as they searched for their other friends. He could tell the boy was in no condition to fight, and if any evil goons were gonna mess with him, they were going to have to deal with Kento of Hardrock first. But one plaguing thought entered his mind. What did that Guardian mean back there when he said his master had special plans for Thunder? 

Kento had no time to ask that, cause he suddenly found himself and Thunder completely surrounded by soldierknights. A smirk came to his lips. "Ready to rumble you tin can freaks?"

The soldierknights made no replies as they suddenly attacked him. Kento blocked a blow, kicked a weapon away from one, and met the blow of another. This was tougher than he had thought. More ganged up on him, and he was worried he wouldn't be able to take them all down.

Thunder watched weakly as the battle progressed on. He didn't know Kento very well, but that didn't matter. They were on the same sides, and right now the boy needed his help, otherwise they would both end up as prisoners, and who knew what Tutock would do to Kento? With all the strength he could summon, he called his armor to him, and suddenly attacked.

Kento dropped another soldierknight, then looked in surprise when he saw Thunder fighting as well. The guy was good in combat, he fought very valiantly, and it appeared almost as if he were dancing gracefully while twirling his large blade, a nodatchi up, over, under, across, outward and in, defeating soldierknight after soldierknight. It was truly amazing!

Kento suddenly remembered where he was as he felt the impact of a sickle connect with his head. It snapped him back to reality as he disconnected his staff, turning it into a 

nunchuck, then began to twirl both ends as he let them bash against the soldier knights, while at the same kicking them down. 

Thunder knocked another soldier knight down, then used his blade to propel himself into the air where his armored feet smashed into the chest of another, knocking it backward which caused a domino effect.

Kento smashed another soldier knight against the wall, then heard a yelp, followed by a groan. He looked over and his eyes flamed as he saw Thunder bending over clutching his stomach in pain as the soldier knight standing over him slowly brought his sickle down toward the Warrior's head.

He never got that chance. Thunder's nodatchi was suddenly sticking straight through the chest, and out of the back. The soldier knight collapsed as the armor vanished.

Kento took care of another soldier knight by taking its head off with three chained staff. He glanced worriedly at Thunder as they finished the last two off. "Hey, you okay?" he asked in concern.

Thunder nodded. "Yes, thanks for helping me and for asking." 

Kento nodded with a smile. "No problem."

Thunder managed to smile back, then let out a sigh. He could only hope his friends were all right.

Sage entered the dark room, and looked around. He couldn't see a thing, it was so pitch black, and for one moment it almost scared him. But then he remembered his promise to Flash earlier. He would do what he had to help save her friends. The six of them had agreed to split up and explore the entire castle in search of her imprisoned friends. True it was dangerous that way, it was also more quicker. Sage allowed his spirit to guide him and now he here he was, in the pitch dark, hearing some type of ragged breathing.

"Hello?" he called gently, yet firmly.

There was silence at first, only that quiet breathing. Finally a small feminine voice called back weakly. "Who's there?"

Sage raised his sword up high and summoned his light power. Light filled the area, and Sage found himself standing in a bare room with a huge stone dragon standing a few feet away from him. He followed the neck up and up and up, and there he saw her. A young girl, thin, with long red hair past her back. She was dressed in regular clothes, and he could see the number of cuts, burns, and bruises on her frail-like body. It was almost unbelievable that she was a Warrior. He saw that her wrists were chained above her head, hidden from view by the dragon's large fangs which seem to almost hide her from view. 

Sage was suddenly reminded of his time spent in the Gargoyals, where he suffered the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. He quickly shook his head, remembering what he was here for. He called back to her. "My name is Sage! Sage of the Halo! I'm a friend of your friend Flash! I'm going to get you out of here!"

Chilie managed to open her eyes and stare down at him. She was amazed. There stood a boy about her age, maybe a year or two older, in a green samurai armor, holding a large nodatchi with a shuriken head at the blade's helm. This must have been one of the boys Thunder saw in his vision of Flash! 

Sage's eyes lifted further upward until he found what he was looking for. There was a jewel in the center of the dragon's forehead. Flash had said earlier to strike at the jewel. He raised his sword up high above his head as he began to charge up his power, the light building and building as it cracked and cackled with energy and might.

Chilie shut her eyes against the light, and then she heard him shout a sure kill out, which sounded almost like Thunder's Lightning Bolt Strike.

"Thunder Bolt Cut!" Sage leapt high into the air, and sent his attack against the jewel and landed back on his feet. Just as Flash had said, the jewel suddenly shattered, and the chains holding the Warrior snapped loose. She tumbled forward, tried to catch her balance, but fell anyway, right into Sage's arms.

Chilie let out a small sigh of relief, then opened her eyes to look her rescuer in the eyes. His eyes were violet, a color she had never saw before, unless he was wearing colored contacts. His face was handsome and seemed to hold wisdom and inner grace. He smiled at her, and for one moment she thought she was in love. 

"Are you okay?" he asked her gently as he laid her down.

Chilie nodded, taking the time to get her strength back. "Yes, thanks to you. How did you find me?" 

"I followed my spirit," he answered as he gazed into her green eyes. He mentally slapped himself. No time to consider asking her out for a date! You have to get her out of here!"

Chilie tried to stand but she was too weak and still in pain. Sage frowned and placed his hands on her. A soft green light lit up around them, and Chilie was shocked to discover that her pain and wounds were fading. A healer, she noted. He was a healer like Thunder! This was either a blessing or it was too strange. Just how much was this Sage like Thunder? How much were the others like any of her or her friends? Chilie didn't know. And right now that didn't matter. What mattered was getting out, finding the other Warriors, being reunited and destroying Tutock's butt once and for all!

Sage helped her to stand. "Come on, let's find your friends and my friends," he said.

Chilie nodded in agreement and summoned her armor to her. She kept her weapon firmly in her hand as she followed Sage toward the door.


	21. Chapt. 21

****

United Forces.

The Sequel to The Power.

Chapt. 21.

Ryo sneaked the down the hall, following the whimpers coming from behind a locked door. He came to the door and struck the lock open and checked the area before going inside. It was dark inside, but the light from the torches lining the walls out in the hall, shined through, and he could see a giant dragon at the end of the small room. His mouth widened in surprise as he beheld it. He heard the soft whimpers of a boy and looked up to see a young boy slightly younger than he was, with long orange brown hair, one long forelock hanging over his nose, an earring in his left ear, and a few pale freckles across his face. Ryo grimaced. He could see the boy was in bad pain, and it seemed as if the boy would give up his life at any moment, by the way he was breathing. Each breath seemed to be getting less and less.

"Hey!" Ryo called up to him, hoping the boy would have enough strength to realize he was there. There was a long moment of waiting, and for one moment Ryo feared the boy was too weak to reply. Finally the boy managed to lift his eyes up to him. A soft moan came from his lips, and his head dropped again to his chest as he was too weak to keep it up. 

Ryo knew he couldn't wait any longer. He had to get him out of here. He brought his swords together, ready to strike at the jewel in the center of the dragon's head. His eyes suddenly narrowed though as he caught the boy's lips moving. He blinked, wondering what he was trying to say, then finally began to understand. "Guardian… behind…. you."

Ryo spun around quickly and saw a tall man in a black and purple armor, holding two swords comfortably at his sides. His hazel eyes narrowed at Ryo, and a cold cruel smirk came to his lips. 

"So you are one of those boys who came with Firestarter to save her friends, are you?" He chuckled as he stepped closer toward Ryo. "Well, I'm here to tell you, you won't succeed. Emperor Tutock is far too powerful to be stopped, and the Warriors will be destroyed with Storm remaining a slave for his whole life."

Ryo's eyes narrowed. "No one will be destroyed here, and no one is going to be a slave. I made a promise to Flash that I would fight with her against you and your master. And we will beat you."

The armored man laughed. "Are you so sure, boy? Do you honestly think you can defeat a Guardian of Tophet?" He smirked and brought his swords together. "Let's find out, shall we?" 

Ryo's eyes widened as the Guardian had suddenly attacked him with more force than he had ever witness during any battle he had ever fought. He fought back the best he could, striking the Guardian where he could, and receiving blows. He grunted in pain as he landed against the wall, then dodged and kicked him with all his might, sending the Guardian flipping backward. 

Ryo leapt to his feet and attacked with more fierceness. Their blades met again and again, creating sparks within the cell. Ryo eventually began to have the upper hand as he sent the Guardian flying against the opposite wall, where he hit it hard and slumped to the ground.

"Hey," Ryo said softly to himself, "These guys aren't so tough after all."

The Guardian suddenly opened his eyes and struck his swords against each other, pointing them both toward Ryo's forehead. "Pain of Fright!" he suddenly cried.

A horrible image struck Ryo's mind as he witnessed horrible scenes of his father being mutilated by a lion. He screamed in terror as he clutched his head and sunk to his knees, shaking with fright as he tried to get the horrific image out of his mind. There seemed to be no end to it, and tears ran down his cheek.

The Guardian watched him, a cruel smile on his face as he slowly approached the boy. And then suddenly his eyes widened as a strange symbol appeared on the boy's forehead, glowing red and bright. He stared at it in curiosity and even with slight worry. Every time the Warriors' symbols, their powers always came forth from their attacks. But this symbol was different as it was not really a picture, but a symbol of another language perhaps. 

Ryo continued to hold his head as his kanji glowed brightly. "Virtue!" he whispered. The image suddenly vanished from his mind and his eyes snapped open, glaring at the Guardian who stared back with a cold smirk. Ryo brought his swords together and attacked without warning. "Flare Up Now!" he cried, sending the attack against him.

The Guardian tried to dodge, but the attack struck him, and he screamed, feeling his armor burn against him. The attack sent him flying across the room and out the door, where his back hit the hard stone wall in the hall. He slumped to the ground, and became still. 

Ryo watched him for a few minutes, but when he gave no signs of coming to, he turned around and aimed for that jewel. "Flare Up Now!" 

The attack went out again and struck the jewel, and the chains released the boy. He fell forward, tumbling head over heels, coming closer to the ground. Ryo sheathed his swords in an instant, and leapt high into the air, catching him safely in his arms, then landing neatly on the ground again. He brought him away from the dragon and gently lowered him to ground. He checked him for injury and winced seeing the burn marks on him. It was amazing how he was still alive, suffering from the effects of the torture, wearing no armor to protect him. But from the way he looked, Ryo feared the boy might now make it anyhow. 

He grabbed the flask of water that he had been given and poured the water into the boy's mouth, gently coaxing it down, and watching to make sure the boy did not choke. The boy seemed to drink thirstily until the water in the flask was gone. Ryo could hear his quiet breathing, wincing as it sounded ragged. Finally the boy's eyes opened and beheld Ryo as he smiled weakly. 

"Thank you," he whispered, before slumping, passing out. 

Ryo bit his lip with concern as he stood up, holding the boy in his arms. Without a second thought, he carried the boy out.

Sage thought it was strange that they had not run into any opposing forces. He did not know whether to be happy or concerned, because there was always that chance that someone would appear, someone against them. He checked on Chilie and saw she was doing okay so far as she followed him. They continued down the hall, cautiously, as they kept their weapons ready. 

Footsteps suddenly echoed from around the corner, and the two pressed against the wall, in wait. The footsteps got closer and closer. Then just when they were close enough they leapt out to attack, then suddenly stopped as the two figures dodged them expertly.

"Sage!" Kento cried.

Sage let out a sigh of relief.

"Thunder!" Chilie cried happily. 

Thunder smiled the best he could. "Thought we were the Guardians or soldierknights, did you?" 

"Wasn't taking any chances," Chilie said. "I'm just glad it was you and not them. Are you all right?"

Thunder nodded. "Yes, thanks to Kento here." He looked toward Sage, and the two warriors stared at one another. For a moment it was as if seeing oneself in a backward sort of way. They could each sense healing powers from one another, but Sage realized that Thunder's healing powers surpassed his own. 

"Um, I hate to break up the little party, but we need to get going!" Kento said.

Sage and Thunder stopped staring at each other, and Sage nodded. "Right. We need to find your other friends, plus our own friends."

"That shouldn't be too hard," said a voice familiar to Sage and Kento. The four of them turned to see someone walking toward them, a figure in a red armor, carrying an unconscious boy in his arms.

"Ryo!" Sage and Kento cried happily.

"Scorpio!" Thunder and Chilie gasped with worry. They ran to meet them. 

Ryo quietly watched as Thunder took the unconscious boy from his arms and laid him gently to the ground. A red glow surrounded the boy as a lightning bolt appeared in his forehead. The light soon surrounded the boy, and the three Ronins watched in surprise as his body's wounds began to heal up faster than snow would melt on a extremely hot day. Not even Sage's healing powers worked this fast.

The healing power died down after awhile, and the unconscious boy opened his eyes. Thunder helped him to sit up. "Are you okay, Scorpio?" he asked with concern.

Scorpio nodded with a smile. "I'm fine," he replied as his friend helped him up. "Thanks to," he turned to Ryo with an apologetic smile. "I didn't get your name though."

"Ryo," Ryo said with a smile. "But right now there's no time to talk."

"That's right," Sage agreed. "We need to rescue the others."

"Well, then," Kento said with impatience and concern in his voice, "what are we waiting for?"

Scorpio armored up, knowing he would need his armor to protect him. He kept his spear staff in his hands as he followed the others down the hall, his seablue eyes searching for any place a soldier knight or a Guardian might hide. He could only hope that the other Warriors were being rescued as well. Who knew when Tutock would appear before they all had the chance to escape?


	22. Chapt. 22

****

United Forces

Chapter 22.

Flash made her way through the dark hall, her sword held before her, her eyes piercing in every direction, searching for any hidden enemy. She knew her friends were somewhere in this dark castle, and she was determined to find them. 

She heard a noise from the left and quickly glanced toward it, waiting and watching as she kept on going. It came quickly. She flipped backward, holding her sword outward as it slashed through the air, connecting with metal as it went through the neck of the soldier knight. It dropped to the floor, lifeless as the spirit inside rose up. She quickly took her dagger out and slashed again at the spirit, killing it before it had the chance to get away. Had she let it go, it would have most likely found one of her friends and possessed them. 

She continued onward again. Faintly she could feel one of her friends nearby, suffering, and she winced. Her jaw was set with anger, but it was controlled anger. She could not lose her temper. She could end up blowing the entire place up, endangering her friends even more. Ryo would be the only one able to stand the heat, but the others, especially Scorpio and Cye would not be able to. 

She gritted her teeth in an angry way as she kept moving forward. She was going to save the rest of her friends, find Tutock, and destroy him once and for all, this making sure he would not come back.

Tutock stared angrily at his guardians as he seemed to refuse to believe what he had just heard. "What do you mean the Warriors are escaping?!"

Karma spoke up. Of all the Guardians he was Tutock's number one and the best of them all. Half of his face was badly scarred by an incident that had happened long ago, between him and Flash. But that was before…..

"Master Tutock, it seems five young boys have joined the Warriors' side." Tutock seemed interested in this, and the Guardian continued. "Apparently they have been brought here by Flash to help her save her friends."

Tutock scratched his chin as he stared down at his Guardian. "Hm. Peculiar. I would have thought Flash of the Firestarter would have been much stronger than to need help. Tell me what do you know about these five new warriors?"

"They also bear mystical armor as well, but they seem to carry a different energy than the Warriors. I feel they are strong, Master Tutock. I have been studying them closely and have learned that four of the five have the same elements as four of the Warriors."

Tutock raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And what are those? Explain your discoveries, Karma!"

"I have learned the boy with the black hair bearing the red armor is a fire elemental just as Firestarter is. The boy with the light brown hair and light blue armor is a water elemental just as Current is. The boy with the dark ash blue hair, wearing the orange armor is an earth elemental as Shock is. And finally the boy with golden hair, the one who could be a twin to Storm, who wears a green armor, is a light elemental. I also believe this blond haired boy has healing powers like Storm does."

Tutock sat there quietly for several long moments as he thought this over carefully. He replayed Karma's findings over and over in his head as his Guardians stood quietly, awaiting for him to speak. 

Finally after a long moment of intense silence he looked at them directly, focusing his eyes on each one present, before settling back on Karma. 

"Your news impresses me. I am most pleased. Karma, I want you to find the boy in red armor and bring him to me. Perhaps I will be able to use his powers instead of Firestarter's. As they say, fight fire with fire." He turned to four more Guardians present. "Surge, Claw, Suicide, and Sin, seek out Storm, and this "twin" of his. Bring them both to me. Storm is the main one I want because his healing powers are great. But this "twin" of his will come in handy when Storm is _unable_ to heal directly."

The five Guardians bowed and abruptly vanished without a single trace to give them away. All that remained in the throne room were soldierknights, and Tophetian Spirits. Tutock looked toward the spirits and spoke to them. "Look for my missing Guardians, Cain, Razor, and Malice and bring them to me."

The Tophetian Spirits nodded and vanished.

Tutock sat on his throne, smiled once, a rather smug smile, and continued to wait.

Rowen was in the darkest room he had ever seen. He wished for once that he had brought a flash light with him, but then he wondered if it would have worked in this place. He let out a sigh, trying to see something, trying to see anything. It seemed hopeless, and he sucked on his lip worriedly.

He decided to trust his instincts and stepped forward, holding his breath. Of course if there was a drop off somewhere he could summon his Strata bubbles to save him. They never failed him before why would they now?

He kept moving, expecting any time to suddenly fall. He was holding his breath, anticipating that one moment that was sure to come. He didn't even realize he had held his breath for so long until he heard painful breathing coming from somewhere above him. He let out in one whoosh as he spoke.

"Hello? Anyone there?!"

There was a moment of silence and the painful breathing was heard again. He tried again, but there was still no answer.

"Listen! I'm here to get you out of here! You can trust me! My name is Rowen! I'm another friend of your friend Flash's!"

There was another moment of silence, before a weak voice spoke. "Help me………"

And from the sound of it, Rowen knew he did not have much time.


	23. Chapt. 23

****

United Forces.

Sequel to The Power

Chapt 23.

Blaze continued to run the down the long narrowing hallway, getting closer and closer to his destination. White Blaze ran behind him wondering where they were going exactly but figured it was to one of Flash's human friends. The whole stench of this place disgusted him and he wanted nothing more than to be back home, dozing in front of the fire, or just playing with Ryo or Yulie.

The two animals continued on through the hallway. Blaze could tell they were getting closer as the crystal guided him along. It was mostly glowing sky blue, but a tiny corner of it was glowing orange-black. 

White Blaze had no idea why only one part of it would be glowing a different color than the rest, but he was sure he would soon find out as they continued to run. Suddenly both animals could sense the presence of evil, and their ears told them that danger was nearby. They could hear the heavy footsteps from somewhere up the hall, and both animals crouched, baring their fangs, ready to attack and defend themselves and one another. Blaze could already tell these were soldierknights from the smell of them. Soldierknights were possessed by Tophetian spirits, who were once living warriors that had conquered and destroyed many. They had been fearsome fighters known to kill the innocent and their own, using both weapons and sometimes even magic to destroy. How Tutock ever gained control of these horrid spirits would never be known.

__

How far are they from us? White Blaze asked.

__

About fifty feet ahead of us. They're coming this way.

I hope you have a plan.

Blaze made no reply and that worried the tiger.

Flash continued on down the hall, keeping herself focused and prepared. She knew she was nearing one of her friends, and it was all she could take to keep from running right to them. 

She had to keep herself from doing that. If she was not careful she could run into a trap. She continued on, feeling desperate as she felt awful for not going full force. How much did her friends have to suffer while she was forced to walk carefully? This disturbed her greatly and even caused a heaviness in her heart. 

Suddenly she felt something ahead, and looked forward. At least twelve soldier knights were charging for her, swords, spears, axes, and all kinds of weapons pointed outward toward her as they prepared to knock her out, or even kill her. She watched as they came closer and closer, calling out their war cries as they charged. Instantly her power went into action. The heat rose up to several degrees, in fact to about 150 degrees, her hair blew behind her as the power and energy crackled around her, her symbol, that flame appeared glowing brightly in her forehead as the heat continued to build and build.

The soldierknights continued to charge though, almost sure of themselves that they would indeed kill the young girl who had caused their master so much trouble before. And then suddenly just when they were ten feet away from her, there was a bright searing explosion of flames that erupted from them, destroying them. The pieces of the destroyed armors flew in all directions, even coming toward Flash. One piece struck her arm, but she did not feel it as her power protected her. In a sense it more or less bounced off her. 

The soldierknights were destroyed, and her power deactivated, returning her to normal. She continued onward.

Rowen's heart was pounding as he could hear the girl moaning in agony. His eyes lifted upward and beheld the green jewel within the dragon's forehead. He remembered Flash saying that once the jewel had been destroyed, the prisoner inside it would be free. He was beginning to think these Warriors may have been captured more than just this one time, but right now there was no time to think about that. He signaled an arrow and cocked it on the string of his bow, aiming it right for the jewel. He pulled the string back just enough, focusing as he suddenly released the string, allowing the arrow to fly directly toward the jewel. But to his dismay it bounced off! He frowned deeply. He was afraid of using his surekill as it was pretty powerful and might cause more harm than damage, but now, he realized he may not even have a choice. He grabbed another arrow and cocked it on the string of his bow again. This time summoning up his power, drawing more energy. He could hear the girl groaning above him, and that worried him even more. He suddenly cried out. "Arrow Shock Wave!"

The surekill traveled upward, heading right for the jewel. It struck head on. There was a bright explosion of green, and then suddenly the chains holding their prisoner snapped away. Rowen's eyes widened as the girl tumbled head first out of the mouth of the dragon, falling toward the floor at exceedingly fast rate.

Oh no! he thought as he raced forward, hoping he would catch her in time. The impact that she would hit the floor with would no doubt severally injure her as she was falling thirty feet. With a grunt he dove forward, catching her in his arms, and falling himself. He hit the floor in a dazed manner, then quickly shook out of it as he bent his head to check her. She was alive, but unconscious. He struggled to his feet, staring tenderly at the girl with short black hair in his arms. "Poor girl… to suffer like that. I have to get you out of here. I hope Sage is nearby. He can help you." And with that Rowen turned and left the cell, carrying the girl with him.

White Blaze frowned as he could hear the soldierknights getting closer and closer. Blaze still hadn't told him if he had any plan, and far as the tiger was concerned it was either attack and destroy or be destroyed. His eyes narrowed and he snarled as the soldierknights came into view. They saw the two animals, and recognized Blaze immediately. If the tiger was with Blaze, then he must be killed as well. They charged. White Blaze prepared to attack as he crouched down.

__

Wait. Came Blaze's voice from beside him.

White Blaze was a little irritated at this. _Wait? Are you mad? If we just stand here, they'll surely kill us with those weapons of theirs! I surely do not wish to die for a second time!_

You won't die, my friend. Trust me. 

White Blaze grunted, but he paused, reflecting on what Blaze had just called him. Friend. No other animal had called him friend before. Only humans. It touched his heart, making him feel warm inside. And so he waited. 

The soldierknights were getting closer and closer to them. At any moment they would crush these two animals with their bare hands or weapons. And then just when they were in five feet of the two animals, the crystal around Blaze's neck suddenly flared to life as it glowed a bright sky blue, growing brighter and brighter until it was almost white and so dazzling White Blaze had to shield his eyes. The light from the crystal quickly surrounded the soldierknights, enveloping them. Their screams were heard and the tiger knew these screams were coming from the spirits inside these walking tincans as the light destroyed them. A few minutes later the light faded, and the crystal was again the normal color with the exception of that one small corner glowing an orange-black color.

White Blaze opened his eyes and looked around. He saw no evidence of any soldierknights anywhere. Before he could ask what had happened, the wolf was rapidly running down the hall again. And White Blaze followed.

Ryo sighed as he, Sage, Kento, Scorpio, Thunder, and Chilie continued on. They had been walking down a particularly long hallway, and it never seemed to end. Already he was worried about Flash, worried about Rowen and Cye, worried about the remaining Warriors who had yet to be found, and even worried about Blaze and White Blaze. "Man, how long is this hallway?" he asked.

"About a mile unfortunately," Scorpio replied in his soft Scandinavian accent. 

Ryo nearly flipped. "A mile?!"

Sage frowned. "You guys have been here before.. haven't you?"

The three Warriors were silent, but Thunder was the most silent. He kept his head turned away and started to walk a little faster.

Kento looked at the other two Warriors with concern. "What's the matter with him?"

They both frowned deeply as they knew exactly what was the matter with him. Chilie looked up at the three curious rescuers and spoke sadly. "Yes, we have been here before. But Thunder has been here more than the rest of us."

Ryo, Sage, and Kento could hardly believe it, but as they looked into her and Scorpio's eyes they knew it was the truth. Ryo looked toward Thunder, grimacing in sympathy as he asked softly, "Why?"

"Because, Tutock wants him as his slave. Thunder has the ability to heal any wound whether self-inflicted, accident-inflicted, or inflicted purposely through any type of fighting or magic on any human or animal. He can even heal himself. And he can bring those who have been killed by violence, whether self-inflicted or caused by another, back to life fully, and it would be as if that person or animal had never died to begin with. And no matter how hard anyone tries he can't be killed. You can stab him in his heart one hundred times, or even shoot him several times in the head, and he still wouldn't die. You could even blast him with all the power and surekill in the universe, and it wouldn't make a difference. He would still live."

The three Ronins had detected anger in Scorpio's voice when he mentioned about Tutock wanting Thunder as a slave. This also angered them as well as sickened them. What a bastard, Ryo thought of Tutock as his eyes were narrowed in anger.

Sage frowned as they continued on. He had a feeling deep inside him that Thunder had suffered more than anyone was letting on. He also had a feeling that something terrible was yet to come. 

Thunder himself must have sensed it as well. The Warrior had stopped walking and had suddenly become stiff, his eyes darting back and forth, his nodatchi held tightly in his right hand. 

Ryo and Kento noticed that Chilie and Scorpio were also suddenly on their guard, and that concerned them. Even Sage seemed to be prepared to defend himself. And so they also stood in a ready fighting position.

They stood quietly, waiting, listening. No sounds were heard, other than the tense breathing they all had. By now all three Warriors had a symbol glowing in their foreheads. Thunder had a lightning bolt shining brightly in his forehead, Scorpio had water droplets glowing in his forehead, and Chilie had a heart flashing in her forehead. The Ronins did not really know what these symbols stood for, but they did know it meant one thing. Danger was nearby. 


	24. Chapt. 24

****

United Forces

Sequel to The Power

Chapt 24. 

The six teenagers in mystical armor continued to stand on their guard, waiting, listening, knowing that at any time whatever evil was coming would soon be upon them. Kento was getting irritated and was wishing that whoever was coming after them would just show up so he could fight and defend his friends.

Ryo's eyes were narrowed and he gripped his blades tightly in his hands. His breathing was quiet, but on edge as he waited. No way was he going to let _anyone_ harm Flash's friends. They had already suffered enough.

Sage was calm and ready for any attack coming up against them. He could feel the presence of evil coming closer and closer and his eyes flashed with anger as he remembered how much these Warriors had suffered. He knew how they felt, to be a prisoner to your enemy, to suffer mercilessly while believing you could die at any time without ever seeing your friends again. 

"Where are they?" Kento muttered impatiently. 

"Keep a grip, Kento," Ryo ordered. "They could be anywhere."

Kento let out a heavy impatient sigh as he gripped his weapon. "I just want some action, and justice."

"Oh, you'll receive action alright, boy. Justice, I think not!"

The six teenagers stood back to back, each facing outward. Thunder, Chilie, and Scorpio all recognized that voice, but the three Ronins did not. Before a move could be made, something knocked Kento down, separating the six of them. Kento landed hard on the floor and grunted as he quickly climbed back to his feet. "Okay, whoever knocked me down is going to get it!" he cried. 

"I'm sorry," came a mocking voice. "Did I hurt you, fat boy?"

"Hey!" Kento shouted indignantly.

"Kento's not fat," Ryo said as he gripped his swords tightly. "He's just big boned."

"Sheesh!" Kento said. "Everyone is insulting me!"

"Actually, that would be considered a compliment, Kento," Sage said.

"Uh?" Kento's face took on a blank look.

Sage did not answer as his eyes were darting back and forth. They could not see their attackers, but he was sensing they were there, surrounding them. He glanced toward his left and saw that Thunder was staring stiffly before him, the Warrior's eyes were narrowed with a calm anger that frightened even him. 

"Hey, why don't you stop hiding yourselves!" Scorpio shouted. 

Another blow came quick and fast, knocking Scorpio backward and right into the wall. The Warrior was stunned as he slumped down.

"Scorpio!" Thunder cried out. He leapt into the air and somersaulted in the air to get to his friend. He never got that chance. Something struck him full force, knocking him backward and right into Chilie. 

Sage's eyes widened seeing the young girl fall to the floor. He was very worried that Thunder might have accidentally crushed her as tall as he was. Chilie wasn't exactly big, in fact she was very thin.

Thunder quickly got off Chilie, and turned to her. The poor girl had been knocked out by him and it angered him. Whoever had thrown him was going to pay. He started glowing a bright red color and his symbol flashed more brightly on his forehead as he laid his hands on his unconscious friend. 

Sage sensed something sneaking up behind the Warrior and he swung out, protecting him. There was a grunt of surprise and a swoosh!

"Very good, Twin of Storm!" came a surprised voice.

Sage's eyes narrowed angrily. "We're not related, but that doesn't give you the right to harm him or anyone else for that matter!"

The voice chuckled mockingly as if it didn't agree. "Oh that is where you are wrong, boy. "I do have the right to harm them. If they would not get in Emperor Tutock's way, we would not even bother with them. And Storm would come to no harm if he would just cooperate."

Ryo looked toward Thunder and Chilie. By now he had completely healed the girl, and she was standing as if nothing had even happened. All three Warriors were once again back to back, facing outwards.

"Why don't you stop hiding, you cowards!" Thunder shouted. The Ronins grimaced a bit, their ears ringing. Thunder had a loud voice when it came to shouting they realized. But then they also realized that he had said cowards. Not coward. So there was more than one here. 

"We know there's more than one of you!" Ryo shouted, his voice carrying through the hall.

"Yes," came another voice, more deep than the first. "But how many can you guess!"

Kento clutched his weapon tightly, his breathing deepened as his eyes darted back and forth as he tried to see where their enemies were. It was hopeless. 

"There's five of you," Thunder replied, his eyes narrowed and staring straight ahead.

"Very good, Storm," came another voice. "But are you sure you are not being deceived? Perhaps there are more than just five of us."

The six warriors kept on their guard, knowing that at any time one of them could be struck fast and hard. Never before had the Ronins been through this type of battle, just waiting and watching, being all tensed while waiting to see if you would be struck at any time. 

"Thunder is right," Sage said. "There are only five of you."

"And there's more of us," Kento said. 

"You can't expect to beat the six of us, either!" Ryo said.

"Are you so sure of yourselves?" came another voice. It was hard to tell where the voices were coming from as they seemed to be all around them.

"Give us a break," Chilie retorted. "We Warriors defeated you the last time. We can do it again, and again, and again."

There was mocking laughter and the tension in the air rose. The Warriors and the Ronins tightened their weapons more firmly as they stood back to back again, eyes darting here and there. And all of them knew, they were in for the fight of their lives.

Cye continued to walk down the long narrow hallway. He was nervous and tense and just expecting anything to come out and attack him. His yari was held tightly in his hands as he kept moving forward, his ears and eyes listening and looking for any sounds or sights of danger. A shadow moved behind the corner up ahead and he froze, his heart pounding. What was that? he wondered. An enemy of Flash's? Perhaps one of the Warriors who may have escaped? Flash herself? Cye didn't know, and for once he was confused, and a bit frightened. But he had to do this. He made a promise with his fellow Ronins that he would help her rescue her friends, and no matter what happened to him, he was going to keep that promise. So he continued onward, searching, hoping he would find one of the Warriors soon. 

Eventually he came to a barricaded door and stared at it for the longest time. Could this be a door to a cell? he wondered anxiously. He had no idea, but he did know the only way he was going to know is if he went in. 

Cye gritted his teeth and stepped forward, reaching hesitantly toward the door knob. He was rather nervous about opening it, for it could very well either electrocute him, throw him into some unknown vortex, or even be just another hallway, or even a flight of stairs. On top of all of these he was hoping he would find one of the Warriors here. He touched the knob, grimacing as his eyes closed tightly as he waited for the unexpected. Nothing happened. He drew in his breath and was releasing it as he turned the knob and pulled it open. His sigh stopped mid-way, and he about choked on it. Standing before him was at least thirty soldierknights all staring coldly at him.

Cye slammed the door shut very quickly and leaned against it, but his efforts to keep them locked in that room proved futile. The soldierknights charged the door down, and Cye flipped into the air, turned, and landed, facing them as he was surrounded.

They attacked as one. Cye spun in the air, weaving his Yari expertly, slashing and dashing against them. He gutted two, flipped another over his shoulder, kicked one behind him, elbowed another, then gave it a quick kick in the chin, sending it crashing into a wall. 

But more came upon him. He received a vicious blow to his stomach, and a kick in the face. He flew back, hitting his back against the cold, stone wall. Already he could feel a few cracks in his armor, and he bit his lip. Oh no, he wasn't going to give up. Time to give something these bloody losers would all regret. 

He pushed himself off the wall, and focused his weapon on them, drawing energy into it as he prepared his attack. The soldierknights charged at him, yelling their death cries; their weapons raised high. "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!!"

The attack struck full force and the soldierknights flew back, breaking apart. Cye did not wait around as those Tophetian spirits rose up from the destroyed armor. He ran for it. 

Rowen heard a soft moan, then looked down to see the young girl was coming to. He quickly looked around to see if any enemy was lurking nearby, but saw none of the sort. He gently laid the girl down and supported her as she opened her eyes. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Ow, my head," she groaned as she placed one hand on her head, grimacing in pain. She paused for a moment, the looked up at Rowen with dark brown eyes, a weak but questioning look on her face. "Who are you?"

Rowen could tell she was from Russia just from the accent. But that didn't matter now. He had to get her back to her friends and hopefully Sage would heal her. "My name's Rowen," he replied gently as he helped her up. "I'm a friend of your friend Flash."

"Flash? Where is she?" the girl asked, looking around cautiously.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Rowen admitted truthfully. "We all split up to find you guys quicker."

The girl was about to reply, then suddenly narrowed her eyes.

"What?" Rowen asked with a frown. "What is it?"

"Shh!" the girl ordered, as she continued to listen to something. 

Rowen became silent, listening as well. Gradually he could hear footsteps, and they were getting closer and closer toward them. The girl instantly stood on guard-ready, holding her two large boomerangs in her hands. Rowen cocked an arrow, waiting as well. Who knew _what _or _who_ was approaching. 

The battle was vicious, and unlike anything Ryo, Sage, or Kento had ever felt before. They could now see the owners of the voices, and so far, this battle was not going well. Already Kento had been seeing illusions caused by the one Scorpio had called Karma. In a way Kento was reminded of Dais, but Karma proved to be trickier, even sneakier, and a whole lot faster.

"Hey, come on you jerk! Stop hiding behind your illusions!" Kento yelled.

"To you they may be illusions, but they are very real," the voice replied mockingly. "What is real and what is not real? Who knows? But soon all things that don't exist now will exist, such as your friends betraying you!"

Kento was shocked, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging open. "WHAT?!"

Ryo was fighting viciously against the one Chilie called Claw. His swords swung back and forth, connecting with his weapon each time. He was forced to back up as the Guardian kept attacking him sadistically. "Don't believe him, Kento! It's all a lie!"

Kento seemed unsure as Karma smirked viciously. 

"Kento, don't believe him!" Sage said as he swung his no-datchi back and forth, clanging it against Suicide's weapon. "Remember, Dais tried to pull that on you!"

Kento's eyes narrowed as he remembered and a sudden rush of anger coursed through his veins. He begin to twirl his bo in high arcs around his head, being careful not to strike his friends down. His eyes gleamed angrily as he called his surekill. "Iron Rock Crusher!" The attack went full force, shaking the entire floor area and creating a large size hole in the floor. Kento smirked. He'd like to see any evil jerk get out of that.

"Kento, look out!" Thunder suddenly cried. Kento looked up, only in time to feel someone slam into him, knocking him back several feet.. He and whoever had knocked him down landed on the floor a bit hard. He gritted his teeth, then his eyes narrowed angrily. 

"Kento…"

Kento stopped, realizing that Thunder had saved him from having his head cut off by a large blade. Thunder immediately jumped to his feet and began to attack full force, using his no-datchi with one hand, using his other fist to punch, and his legs to kick. Nearby Chilie and Scorpio were teamed up against Surge, and were fighting him the best they could, while dodging his attacks. It wasn't easy. In fact none of them were having an unproblematic time. To the Ronins taking on these Guardians was like fighting two Warlords at the same time. 

Sage suddenly yelped as he was thrown hard against the wall. Suicide kicked him in the stomach, denting his armor, causing him to groan in pain. He slowly slumped over.

"Sage!" Scorpio cried as he leapt over Surge. He raised his spearstaff, prepared to beat Suicide over the head with it. Suicide ducked, then swung his leg up and sideways, kicking Scorpio into the opposite wall. The boy hit the wall hard and was pretty much dazed. Suicide did not bother with him. He turned to Sage and grabbed him by the horn of his helmet, turning him so that he was facing the wall. With one quick move, he slammed the boy's face hard against the wall, sending him into that oblivion known as unconsciousness.

"SAGE!!" Ryo cried as he tried to get past Claw to help his friend. It was no use. Claw would prevent his every move, forcing him to fight. He had no choice but to clash back. 

Suicide left Sage there and attacked Scorpio viciously, not giving the boy a chance to regain his strength. 

"SAGE!!" Chilie cried with concern and worry in her voice. No matter hard she tried, Surge continued to attack brutally, giving the girl no chance to run to Storm's look-alike.

Karma in the meantime had suddenly called up at least one hundred soldierknights. And Ryo, Kento, Chilie, Thunder, and Scorpio knew the odds were against them and not looking good. 

Ryo suddenly called for a drastic measure. He brought his swords together and leapt high into the air, drawing power and heat from the blades. "FLARE UP NOW!!" he cried. The attack went out and obliterated several of the soldierknights.

Scorpio felt weakened from the heat, but it wasn't enough to keep him down, much to the Guardians dismay. He placed his own weapon sideways before him, chest level and began to spin it around and around like a pinwheel. The weapon glowed bright yellow and his symbol: waterdroplets: appeared glowing brightly in his forehead. "WATER TORRENT POWER!!" A fierce tsunami-like sprout of water erupted from his weapon and struck against more soldierknights sending them crashing to the floor in pieces. 

Chilie crossed her slingshot daggers over one another across her chest as they too began to glow bright purple. Her symbol, the heart flashed brightly in her forehead as she called her attack. "LOVE SURRENDER!!" 

Instantly three large wild animals, a boar, a jaguar, and a bear appeared, attacking the soldierknights violently, as she in turn began to use the sling part of her daggers to attack more.

Thunder was now battling both Suicide and Sin, and was literally trying to keep it altogether. Every time he would go to call his surekill, one of them would stop him, causing him to back up each time with every strike. 

They're doing this on purpose.. but for what reason? he wondered silently as he continued to parry and block each blow. Something's not right here. I've got a bad feeling. 

Karma smirked as more soldierknights came and attacked. The Warriors and their new comrades were battling the best they could, but their best would soon prove useless. With a flying twist and a vicious kick to the head, Kento was knocked head first into the wall. It didn't knock him out, but he was pretty disorientated.

Karma nodded to Claw, and Claw smirked, as he brought out strange looking black disks from his armor's belt. He cast them forward. 

Ryo was still fighting, cutting down soldierknights, and kicking others into the wall. He punched one right into Scorpio's blade end of his staff, then ducked to avoid the weapon of another as it nipped his helmet. He straightened up and elbowed that soldierknight into the wall. He did not see the disks coming straight at him until it was too late. He felt something extremely tight grab onto his arms clamping them tightly down at his sides. Then his legs felt pretty much the same way. He felt paralyzed all over except for his neck and his head. He fell forward, crashing to the floor with a grunt. Then he just laid there, completely motionless, feeling as if his energy were being sucked right out of him, leaving him immobilized and helpless.

"RYO!!" Scorpio and Chilie yelled. Both tried to get to him, but the attacks of the soldierknights were preventing them. Surekill after surekill was called, but more soldierknights took the places of the last ones. 

Karma smirked and walked to Ryo and seized the bound boy by one of the horns on his helmet. Claw had Sage over his shoulder, and Sin and Suicide were still battling against Thunder. Karma suddenly vanished into thin air, taking Ryo with him. Claw followed suit, and Sage was gone as well. At the same time Suicide knocked Thunder's no-datchi out of his hand, and Sin kicked him hard in the face, sending great pain through him as it felt as if his face had been cut up by glass. He cried out loudly, slumping forward. Suicide quickly yanked his hands behind his back, chaining them tightly before the Warrior could shake off the pain and fight back as Sin made sure the others were kept busy. In a matter of minutes they too had disappeared, leaving two exhausted Warriors battling for their lives, and for the life of one very dazed Kento of Hardrock.


	25. Chapt. 25

(Author's note: Gomen nasai to the ones who have been reading this fic. I have been having major writer's block with this fic lately. Course all the reviews I have been getting are giving me the urge to write again. At this time, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed my fic. You know who you are! *smiles and steps back* Now enjoy the fic!)

**United Forces**

Sequel to The Power

Chapt 25.

Rowen was very tensed, his fingers were practically trembling against the drawstring of his bow. This was not good. Was he scared? No.. nervous? Perhaps. Who was he kidding? He was scared to death. The sound of the footsteps were getting closer and closer and sweat was practically pouring down his face. Was his fingers shaking? He thought they were still, but now he couldn't be so sure. 

The footsteps got closer and closer. Shades raised her boomerangs up slightly preparing to throw them. They could now see a shadow coming around the corner. She crouched down, getting ready to attack, not daring to take any chances.

Rowen's grip released slightly on the drawstring as he lowered his bow and arrow. He recognized that shadow anywhere… Now he just had to tell Shades who it was.

"YAH!!" Shades let out a battle cry and charged.

Rowen looked up in horror. "Shades, no! That's my friend!!"

Shades heard that, and quickly twisted her body in midair, then landed on her feet, standing just before a shocked boy in a light blue armor. She peered closely at him, and opened her mouth to apologize, but the boy stepped back and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to startle you," he said.

Well, this was a surprise, she thought. I nearly clobbered him and he's apologizing to me?

Rowen stepped forward. "Cye, are you all right?"

Cye nodded, a bit shakily. "Yes, I'm fine. This place just gives me the creeps. I haven't been able to find any of the Warriors." He looked toward Shades. "I see you have one though."

Rowen nodded. "Yes, I did.

"The name's Shades, now let's go."

The two boys just gave each other a look, then followed her, their weapons were kept firmly in their hands as they moved on, awaiting for any danger that could lurk nearby.

Ryo was in shock. Before him sat the hugest man he had ever seen in his entire life. This guy had to be at least eight feet tall. He wore a black robe, his eyes pure red with a bright red tiny light for pupils. Power seemed to surround him, and Ryo, for the first time in his life felt afraid. Of course not being able to move either didn't help. Damn it! What were these things tying him down like this? He hated having no control over his own body. Then a thought came to him. Hey, at least my mind's still free. I just hope they don't try to control me or worse. 

Tutock stared down at the three boys, a grin spread across his face. "Very good, Guardians." The five Guardians bowed with grins of evil on their faces as they looked toward their captured prizes.

Thunder was struggling wildly to get free, and it was all Sin and Suicide could do to keep a good grip on him. He bucked and fought like a wild animal, desperate to get free. 

Ryo watched him, hoping he could get free, then all hope died when Tutock spoke, his evil voice practically shattering his ear drums. 

"ENOUGH!!" A blast of black power came out and struck Thunder in the torso, causing the Warrior to scream in pain as he fell backward onto his bound wrists. Sweat poured down his face and his body trembled with pain. The pain was unbearable and tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Stand him up!" Tutock commanded. 

It was done. Thunder stood there trembling from the immense pain he felt, and Ryo could only look up at him helplessly. I wish I could help him, he thought quietly. But I can't get free and every time I try I get more tired. What are we going to do? It all seemed hopeless for them.

"Now," Tutock said as he lowered his hand down to the arm of his throne. "I have brought Storm here for one reason." He looked toward Ryo. "And I have brought you and your friend here for another reason."

"And what reason is that?" Ryo spat, his eyes flaming. Even though he felt weakened, he was not going to give up fighting. No, he was a Ronin Warrior, and a Ronin Warrior fights for humanity until death if necessary.

Tutock gave a malevolent smirk. "I have learned that you, my boy, have fire powers like Firestarter has. I am highly interested in that."

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't have pyrokinesis okay! So you might as well let the three of us go."

Tutock was not the least daunted. "I am well aware that you do not carry that power, boy. But you have an armor that does. And I intend to use that armor to destroy Flash of the Firestarter once and for all."

Ryo glared at him with hatred. He barely knew this monster and already he wanted nothing more than to blast him away with the Inferno. But he couldn't call the Inferno. What was he going to do? And where Flash and the other Ronin Warriors?

"As for your friend there," Tutock continued, looking down at Sage. "He'll be Storm's replacement when Storm is unconscious or too weak to heal or bring my servants back to life should they be killed by the Warriors or those other friends of yours." 

Thunder glared at him. "I'll never serve you!"

Tutock looked toward him, eyes flashing. "You will serve me, Storm, or you will feel pain. And we all know how terrible it is for you to feel pain."

Thunder's glare increased and he angrily looked away. How he despised this tyrant! He was a Warrior, not some common slave! And now Flash's new friends were in danger. Why did this have to happen?!

Ryo was confused though. Pain was terrible for anyone, how could it be any different for Thunder? 

"Take Storm and his twin away to their rooms," Tutock ordered. "I will keep the other boy here. It's time I learned how powerful he really is."

The Guardians bowed and disappeared with Sage and Thunder, as Ryo watched in horror. "SAGE!! THUNDER!!" He bit his lip worriedly, then turned to glare once more at Tutock. He did not like that _smile _on Tutock's face.

Flash continued on her way down the hall. She was getting agitated like something bad had happened again and it was all she could do not to scream. Still she knew she had to keep her cool, otherwise if she lost all control it would be disastrous. She ran down a flight of stairs, tripped suddenly and tumbled head first down then. She kept her body relaxed, and covered her head. The fall hurt her, but it didn't hurt as bad as it would have had she been all stiffed. She landed on the floor what seemed like hours later, but in fact only minutes had passed. She rolled once, then quickly got to her feet, not wanting to give an enemy the chance of finding her off-guard. 

Pain shot through her left ankle, and she bit down on her lip. She looked down at it, and grimaced. Terrific. Sprained ankle. Just what I needed. 

But there was no time to worry about pain now. She had to save her friends. She moved onward, limping, but heading down the hall fast. She could sense one of her friends was very close by, and she begin to move a bit faster. She came to a locked door and used her good foot to kick it in. 

The huge dragon stood in the center of the room, a white jewel embedded into its forehead. Flash looked toward the mouth of the dragon and her eyes beheld T-boz. She was relieved for finding her. Now she just had to get her out of here.

"Flash?" came a weak voice.

Flash limped into the room and nodded. "Yes, T-boz, it's me. I'm going to get you out of here."

The girl smiled weakly. "I knew you'd come."

Flash's power went into action as she focused all of her power on that one jewel. There was an increase in temperature and the jewel suddenly exploded. The chains released 

T-boz and she tumbled out of the mouth of the dragon as Flash's power died down. Flash dove forward and caught the girl in time before she hit the floor. Once again pain shot through her ankle, and she did her best to ignore it. She looked worriedly at T-boz, checking for any injury.

"Flash, I'm fine.. Just sore. From all that shock," T-boz assured her as Flash gently set her down. Right away T-boz's sharp eyes caught the look of pain on Flash's face even if Flash was hiding it. "You're hurt."

"Just a sprained ankle. I'll be fine. We need to get moving."

T-boz looked at the ankle worriedly, but knew Flash was right. She armored up, feeling strengthened, and followed Flash out.


	26. Chapt. 26

AN *blinks* Is anyone reading this fic? I didn't lose my touch did I? *worried*

****

United Forces

The Sequel to The Power

Chapt. 26.

Sage's eyes were fluttering rapidly as he began to come to. He was aware of his face pressing against something cold and his eyes slowly opened to take in his surroundings. He was in a cell of some sort with a hard floor and two walls made out of stone. He sat up, blinking, a bit confused, then realized he had been captured.

"Sage?" came a familiar voice from his left. He turned to his left and saw more bars blocking his way from freedom. He felt as if he were in jail, but this was worse. Much worse.

"Thunder," he said softly. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked in concerned.

Thunder shook his head sadly, eyes lowered to the floor. His body trembled and he looked scared almost. For what reason? True it was alright to be afraid of what was happening, but why was he afraid? Sage didn't ask that. "Hey, try to cheer up. We'll get out of here. I bet the others are looking for us right now."

"I know they are," Thunder said quietly. "I um.. healed your wound by the way. You had a nasty bump on your forehead and a broken nose."

Sage felt his way. He remembered being thrown first face into the wall, and feeling pain before he had lost consciousness. His face felt fine, as if nothing had even happened to him. He looked back at Thunder. "How long have I been out?"

"About forty-five minutes actually. I couldn't heal you until the Guardians left us alone." Thunder was leaning up against the wall, staring down at the dusty floor. 

Sage stared at him for a few moments. He wondered why he was locked up. He already knew why Thunder was locked up, but why him? What did this Tutock want with him? Sage didn't know, but he did know that he wanted some answers and soon.

Blaze sped down the hall with White Blaze right behind him. The crystal around the wolf's neck had been glowing more strongly now, and the wolf seemed more than eager to follow it as it led them. They passed several soldierknights who tried their best to stop the two large animals, but with a fierce attack, they were nothing more than pieces of scrap metal, and the Tophetian spirits who had been controlling the soldierknights were immediately destroyed by the crystal around Blaze's neck. The two animals continued on, running down a flight of stairs, then turning around a corner and running down the hall. Eventually they came to a locked door.

White Blaze stood there, watching as Blaze closed his eyes as if he were concentrating. The crystal glowed brighter, and a spark shot out of the crystal hitting the door, forcing it to open. Blaze ran into the room. The tiger followed, and stared up at the humongous black and orange dragon that stood before them. It's head was held high, the mouth wide open. There was a figure hanging limply within the jaws. It looked dead. White Blaze was suddenly reminded of the time when his charges, Ryo and Rowen had gone into the Dynasty alone with him to save their captured friends. It had been a terrible experience for them all. He stood back, watching as the wolf stood there quietly as the crystal begin to glow once more, more brilliantly this time. The light flared up and suddenly struck the jewel piece embedded into the dragon's forehead. This action caused the chains to release their prisoner. The boy fell forward, only to be caught in the nick of time by Blaze. He laid limply on the wolf's back.

__

Is he all right?

He'll be fine. We need to get him out of here fast though. I'm afraid our friends are in danger right now. We must hurry!

The tiger didn't need to be told twice.

Chilie gritted her teeth as she slammed another soldierknight into the wall. Things were not going well for her, Scorpio, nor Kento. They were outnumbered badly, and she wasn't sure how much longer it would be before they all ended up captured. Next to her Scorpio was swinging his spearstaff around catching soldierknights off guard, and finishing them off with a maneuver to the neck. 

"Scorpio, this isn't good!" Chilie said almost fearfully.

"I know!" he replied. "But we have to keep fighting! We don't have a choice!"

The battle continued on as Chilie knew that Scorpio was right, but just how long could they keep this up? Time and time again, their surekills were called, but it didn't seem to matter how many soldierknights had been taken out. More took their place. 

Kento finally snapped out of his daze and saw what was happening. A low growl emitted from within his throat and his eyes flashed. He could see the trouble the two Warriors were having and knew they needed his help. He got up and let out a war cry and attacked. His bo swung against a soldierknight knocking it several feet backward, and his fist punched right through the faceplate of another.

Chilie and Scorpio were very much relieved to see that Kento was all right. And the way he was enjoying himself during the fight reminded them both of Ice.

"And one for you! And one for you!" Kento shouted each time he struck a soldierknight. He suddenly begin to twirl his weapon around his head, gathering up energy for his attack. "Now it's time to bury all of you losers! Iron Rock Crusher!"

The attack went out and the floor shook beneath them. The two Warriors watches, astounded as the floor split open before their very eyes. He had an attack just like Ice. What was going on here? 

As they watched the soldierknights were soon buried beneath them, and Kento was twirling his weapon about triumphantly. "I love a good burial place," he said.

"Come on!" Scorpio cried as he turned and raced down the hall again.

Chilie followed behind him and soon caught up. Kento caught up as well, and could only wonder what happened to his friends. 

T-boz and Flash were walking down the hall somewhere deep under the castle, but not on the lowest floor. Flash was actually limping as her ankle had swollen up and was pretty badly bruised. It hurt awful, but she had had worse pain than this before. She had to keep going for the Warriors' sake. Little did she know there was even more people to rescue, but she kept having a nagging suspicion that _someone_ else was in danger at the moment, and the thought of it worried her.  
"Are you sure you're all right, Flash?" T-boz asked with concerned. 

"I'm fine, T-boz. I can't let a wounded ankle get me down. I have to continue this, and find the others!"

T-boz nodded, but frowned in concern. "Hopefully once we find Thunder he can heal you."

"Yeah, and if he can't I know Sage can."

T-boz continued to follow her, but with a confused look on her face. Sage? she wondered. Who or what could that be?

Ryo continued to glare at this Tophetian master who seemed to have been meditating for awhile now. He still couldn't struggle and decided that any more time he used to struggle against these binds was wasting more of his energy. He had to save what strength he had so that when he was freed he could help fight against this tyrant. He wondered how Sage was, and was worried about him. He thought of Flash and hoped she was okay, and hoped his other friends, and her friends were all right as well. He had no way of reaching them as he had suddenly been blocked off from them somehow. It had to have been these binds on him. What else could it have been? He felt Tutock shift on his throne, and glanced upward at him, then frowned with extreme worry and even slight fear as the evil emperor rose to his feet.

"Now boy, it's time to make you show me just how powerful you are!" He pointed at Ryo, and black energy shot out of his index finger and struck Ryo, covering him completely. The force of the power lifted Ryo high into the air and he began to glow brilliantly as the power from Tutock's hand literally struck him alive with much pain. And Ryo screamed.


	27. Chapt.27

****

United Forces

Chapt. 27.

Rowen and Cye stopped dead in their tracks as they felt incredible pain going through their bodies. Their kanjis flashed brilliantly upon their foreheads. They yelped loudly, both crashing to their knees in pain as they held their heads. Shades stared at them with horror. What was wrong with them? Why were they screaming in pain, and why were these strange symbols flashing upon their foreheads like that? What was going on? 

"Are you guys ok?" she cried. "What's the matter?!"

Rowen clenched his teeth together. The pain was intense, so horrifying, he believed he would die at any time right there, even if he wasn't the one the pain was being given to in the first place. "R..Ry..Ryo…." he managed to get out.

Shades frowned even more. "Ryo?" She wanted to badly help them, but she had no idea what was going on or who or what this Ryo even was.

"He's…he's… a friend of ours….." Cye gasped through pain. He let out a cry as the pain seemed to increase. Rowen felt it as well, and both Ronins knew _something_ had happened to their friend.

"Ryo?" Shades repeated.. She decided to try something. Perhaps one of the other Warriors had met him already. She connected telepathically with Flash, figuring she would have the most answers. '_Flash, you there?'_

Flash answered back which was a good thing to Shades. '_I'm here, Shades. You okay?'_

'I'm fine. But I don't think two of your friends are.'

'What do you mean? What's wrong?'

'They're in pain, but they weren't attacked. The one said Ryo…These two keep glowing with strange symbols on their foreheads. Flash, what's going on here?'

'Did you say they said Ryo?'

'Yes.'

'Oh no.'

Shades frowned at that. Flash seemed genuinely worried now, and Flash worried was not good. And neither was Flash angry good. If Flash had wanted to she could blow up the entire world. Thank goodness Flash was on the side of good, and cannot be controlled by evil or magical forces. _'Flash, what's going on here?'_

'Shades, I think Ryo might be in danger. I've been sensing that something bad is going to happen to him. How? He's a fire elemental like me, so I'm guessing that's why I can sense this.'

'Wait, are you saying he can start fires like you?'

'Not exactly. His armor is based off of fire itself. When he uses it, he can make fires, but not when he's not using it.'

'Oh, I see.'

'Shades, keep an eye on the two with you. They can feel Ryo's pain since they're all connected. That'll be explained later. Tell them, I'm going after Ryo, and I'm killing Tutock once and for all.'

'Alright, I will. And Flash?'

'Yeah?'

'Be careful.'

'I will, Shades. You be careful as well, and keep them safe.'

Shades let out a sigh as the telepathic connection was broken. She stared down sadly at the two before her. "I know you're sensing your friend's pain right now, and I'm sorry about that."

"H..how.. did you know about that?" Cye asked as fresh tears ran down his face. 

"I talked to Flash telepathically. She told me all of what's going on, and she's going after your friend, Ryo."

That was a relief for them both. They could only hope that Flash got to him in time.

Kento could also feel Ryo's pain, but he held it in, wanting to go and save his friend. He thought about running off on his own, finding Ryo, and then saving him when he realized he had no idea how to get around this dark castle, and also the fact that he could possibly be killed or even captured. He had to use his head. He looked toward the two Warriors in hopes they would help him.

"Guys, wait, please!" he cried out.

Scorpio and Chilie both stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him. They could see that a kanji was flashing brilliantly upon his forehead, and that he looked like he was in pain, even if he was trying to hide it. That brought a lot of concern to them.

"Kento, what's wrong?" Chilie asked with a frown.

"It's… it's my friend.. Ryo.. He's in trouble.. I have to… I have to save him…" 

The two Warriors gave each other a look, then nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Kento, we'll go find your friend," Scorpio said, still very worried about his own friends.

Kento managed to smile gratefully at them, then followed them to look for Ryo. He thought to himself that if anything happened to Ryo, he would make someone pay. 

Thunder could only watch in horror as Sage screamed in pain for no apparent reason. The warrior was on his side, holding his head, and thrashing about. What was going on here? He had no idea, but he was going to find out, and if possible to help Sage. He shifted to Second Sight and stared in horror at the vision he saw. It was so horrifying, that it reminded him of his own horrible torture that he had gone through a long time ago. He couldn't stand it anymore, the vision was too terrifying for him. He shifted back to regular sight, and felt that he was shaking. And he couldn't stop shaking. Tears ran down his cheeks and he quickly brushed them away. He looked toward Sage who was still screaming in pain. He badly wanted to help him, but since it was not his own pain, but that of another's that he felt, he couldn't help him, and that made the Warrior feel terrible.

He heard footsteps and looked up to see who was coming. He glared as the Guardian came into view. "Suicide!" he hissed.

Suicide gave him a glare, then looked toward the screaming twin of Storm's. As Thunder watched in horror, the Guardian opened the cell door to Sage's and went inside. A swift kick to the head ended the blond warrior's screaming. Suicide turned and left abruptly as the door to the cell slammed shut and locked.

Suicide gave Thunder a warning glare as he stormed past, but Thunder paid no attention to him. He stared sadly at the unconscious warrior lying on that cold miserable floor. 

He moved forward, not caring what would happen to him if he helped Sage. He knew Sage needed his help, and he was going to do it, one way or another. He reached through the bars and tried to touch Sage so he could heal him. He was only able to touch Sage with the tip of his fingers, but it would do. He closed his eyes in concentration, and begin to heal the warrior as his aura glowed red around him, and that lightning bolt appeared in his forehead. 

A few seconds later, Sage came to, and he immediately wished he hadn't. The pain was still there. Thunder sensed this immediately, and quickly put Sage into a deep sleep. Now he wasn't sure what to do.

Ryo screamed loudly as this monster, this tyrant sucked the very essence of his being from him. Somehow Tutock was sucking out his armor from him by holding Ryo up to his face and pressing his lips against Ryo's mouth as if giving him resuscitation. His eyes were wide with horror and filled with pain as he wished he could somehow fight against this monster.

Tutock could feel the power flowing into him. He was getting stronger. Soon he would be able to defeat Flash of the Firestarter and be rid of her once and for all. 

Ryo screamed in agony as he felt the rest of his armor slip away from him. His eyes closed, and he went limp like a dead man.

Tutock pulled his head back to watch the young boy's head fall against his chest. An evil grin came to his face. At last the power of this boy was his! Laughter rang throughout the entire castle.

Flash heard the evil laughter and she clenched her fists angrily. T-boz was frowning beside her. Something must have happened to make Tutock so pleased, but what? And now Flash was throwing off heat waves. This wasn't good. 

"Flash…"

Flash was shaking with anger but she managed to control it. "I'm killing Tutock once and for all." Without further explanation she managed to summon Blaze to her. Thankfully Snow was with them, and was all right.

"Flash! T-boz!" he said, happy to see them. He sensed Flash's anger and knew that something was wrong as they could hear Tutock's laughter. He dared not to speak, but quietly awaited orders.

Finally Flash spoke. "Blaze, heal my ankle, then stay with T-boz, Snow, and White Blaze. Search for the other Warriors and Ronins and round them up together, then get them out of this castle and faraway. This _ends_ tonight."

The way Flash had said "ends" was enough the put a chill down all of their spines, including White Blaze's. Blaze healed her with his crystal, and she took off, unable to be seen because she moved so fast. 

"We better get going then," T-boz said softly. Snow nodded in agreement, and the two Warriors followed behind Blaze and his companion.

"Snow, one question." T-boz said quietly as they moved on.

"Yes?" 

"Where did that beautiful white tiger come from?"

"I don't know. He was with Blaze when I woke up."

"Oh." T-boz said no more, and figured out that the tiger came with Flash's other friends. The tiger seemed tensed and agitated, but somehow Blaze kept him back. Of course that was no quandary for the wolf. He was bigger than White Blaze and had a lot of power to him. Luckily for them all he was on their side. 

Flash continued to run through the castle halls, defeating any soldierknight or Tophetian spirit that came near her. She was highly pissed off, and not in the mood to be messed with. Tutock and this whole castle was coming down once and for all.


	28. Chapt. 28

*wonders why no one has been reviewing this anymore*

****

United Forces

Chapt. 28.

Flash was moving quickly down the hall, her eyes were flashing brightly as she was beyond pissed. She was going to make Tutock suffer before she finished him off. Make him suffer like he had made her friends suffer, like he had made Ryo suffer. He would die slowly and painfully under her hand.

Flash knew she was normally not like that but when someone drove her to the edge she was extremely dangerous. She had battled many before, and Tutock was one of them. Time again and again she constantly was fighting. She didn't mind fighting. That came with the job of being a Warrior, sworn to protect, destined to fight all her life. Yes, it was hard, but she had the faith to carry on, and with that faith she could not be defeated by any.

She moved on, speeding up a bit. She was heading directly for the throne room, and there she and Tutock would battle it out once and for all. She could hear his evil laughter from where she was and it angered her even more. She was allowing her anger to build, but kept calm at the same time. Before, years ago, she had had a very bad temper, and the results had been disastrous. Thanks to Chinook's training, she had learned to harness her power and anger. She used that training now, becoming even more dangerous than ever before.

She arrived at the double doors, and with a blast of power, blew the doors into oblivion. She stood there straight as a post, unmoving, her eyes narrowed, fists clenched tightly, jaw set, body tensed and ready as she glared right at Tutock as they stood to face to face.

Neither moved as they studied one another. Each could remember the times of battles they had fought, both were very sure of themselves as they prepared for the fight of the century.

White Blaze was agitated as he sniffed his way to his master. He tore down soldierknights who attacked him, and avoided the Tophetian spirits the best he could. He could sense Ryo wasn't far away so he continued to run, hoping to get to him in time. 

Blaze quickly begin to gather up the Warriors and the Ronins. He used his power to transport all of them out of the castle and about 100 miles from it, much to the Ronins' surprise and anger. They didn't understand the necessity of having been forced out the castle like that.

"Why were we thrown out like that?!" Kento demanded. "Ryo's still in there!"

"Kento, try to calm down and listen," T-boz tried.

Kento glared angrily at her, and she frowned deeply. She was worried they would all end up fighting over this, and she couldn't blame them for being upset. But only if they would let them elucidate the situation to them!

Rowen was by Sage's side watching over the unconscious boy. For the past several minutes all of the Ronins had felt empty, like a piece of them was missing, and they all knew what it was. They had to get Ryo back, and his armor. He looked up miserably and angrily. "Why? Why were we kicked out like that, and Ryo left there to suffer and die?"

"Because Strata, had you and the other Ronins and Warriors have been left in the castle along with Wildfire and Firestarter you would have all perished, excluding Storm who can't be killed through violence."

All conscious Ronins gaped in shock at the overgrown wolf. Had he really just talked like a human? It was totally unbelievable. Rowen was wondering how it was possible, Kento thought he was just imagining things, and Cye was sure he was dreaming. 

"I know what you are all thinking," Blaze said in response to them. "You wonder how is that I am able to talk to you like this. I have been able to speak since finding the Power Element Crystal."

"Power Element Crystal?" Rowen asked, bewildered.

"Yes. It started over a year and a half ago. At that time I was living with Flash, her father, stepmother, and half twin brother and sister Sammy and Cammy who were three then, in San Francisco, California. I was already then an abnormal wolf because of my height. But I could not speak nor use my powers since they had to be activated. I am part of the Warriors, not exactly like them, but I hold them together and keep them from being separated for very long. I found the Power Element Crystal one night in the woods of the city. I was chosen to bear it, and I only I can control it. The crystal cannot be corrupted, cloned, or destroyed in any shape or form. _Nothing_ can prevail against it. It holds all the major elements and virtues and controls all of them, except for one's own power."

"And who would that be?" Cye asked in wonder.

"Flash."

"Why can't it?" Kento asked.

"Because Flash's virtue is faith. You can break someone's virtue of power, love, hatred, determination, will, and others, but it's very hard to break faith. And Flash has a lot of faith. I'm not saying her virtue can be broken, it's just that she cannot be controlled nor can her power, even if you are a fire elemental or having psychic power. No magic anywhere can control her, and all fires obey her whether started by her or not."

The Ronins were stunned and they looked at the other Warriors who all nodded firmly. This was all hard to believe and they really didn't quite understand it. They had much to learn about these Warriors with these mystical armors.

"But what about them?" Rowen asked the wolf, gesturing to the other Warriors.

"Each of the Warriors are connected to one another much like you Ronins are connected. However their armors were not made from their enemy."

"Thank goodness," Ice muttered. He was glad to be free finally, having been suddenly rescued when Blaze summoned all of them together at Flash's command.

Blaze continued without missing a beat. "Their armors are made from either elements or magical properties. Scorpio's armor is made from pure water, and he can control water and create water, but only when he is in armor. His virtue is forgiveness and he can forgive anybody anything. And Torrent, you and he have a lot in common, regarding sea creatures." 

Cye and Scorpio shared a knowing grin at one another.

"Ice's armor is made from the earth, and like you, Hardrock, he can control the earth, but only in armor. His virtue is equity. Snow's armor is made from pure ice water. He controls all winter precipitation when he's in armor, and can produce it. His virtue is alliance. Shades's armor is made from magical properties, or rather confusion to be exact. Shades armor cannot be very well explained I'm afraid. When she is in armor she can cause the enemy to see illusions and she cannot be fooled by illusions herself. Her virtue is mercy. T-boz's armor is also made out of magical properties. When in armor she can become invisible like a ghost, but to the untrained she cannot be detected. Her virtue is hope. Chilie's armor is made from pure love. With her armor on she can talk to any animal there is and gain their help no matter how vicious and wild they can be. Her virtue is love. Thunder's armor is made from pure lightning. He can control all forms of electricity while in armor. He has many abilities which include Second Sight, the ability to see things hidden such as auras and powers and abilities, amongst other things. Example, he could look at a glass of water and tell if it's been poisoned or not but only if he uses the Second Sight. You already know that he can heal any wound, and that he can raise those slain, and cannot be killed himself. He can see through illusions and he cannot be controlled or polluted, nor possessed or brainwashed. His virtue is knowledge. Flash's armor is made out of fire. She can cause fire to appear with or without her armor which you already know about, as she does have pyrokinesis, which enables her to use her power more efficiently. And the Firestarter armor is made from that itself, meaning that Flash's own power created the armor, thus linking it to the other seven armors. You know she can run extremely fast, up to 6000 miles per hour and beyond. She is the fastest being in the universe, and she can run for hours without stopping or getting tired. She is a spirit slayer, meaning she kills evil spirits no matter what type and how powerful. The main ones she kills though are the Tophetian spirits here in Tophet. She cannot be controlled by magic nor can she be possessed by anything. Any spirit who tries to possess her without permission from her are instantly killed. As of now Flash's powers are growing. Each time she uses her power, it grows more and more in intensity."

The Ronins continued to listen with shock and almost disbelief, but they knew that every word the wolf had spoken was true. They could feel it inside them. The next few minutes were spent in absolute silence as none of them were sure what to say now. Blaze himself had taken a pause to allow all of them to adjust to what he had just told them. It was very confusing to them all, but he sensed within time they would all understand it someday. 

A/N: Is anyone actually reading this anymore? It's getting to where I'm actually considering on not posting anymore chapters at fanfiction.net. Please review and tell me what you think! I need to know if anyone is reading this! Thanks. 

Firestorm.


	29. Chapt. 29

A/N: THANK YOU!! Whoohoo!! Someone's actually reading this!! I feel much better. Thanks goes to all those who have encouraged me to keep writing this fic.

United Forces

Chapt. 29

Tutock smiled smugly at the girl who stood before him. He could feel her anger and he laughed haughtily. He was rather pleased seeing a pissed off Firestarter before him, and now that he had the boy's power he could defeat her and take her power as well. It would all be a matter of time before he had the whole world under his grasp of power.

"You've come at a bad time, girl. You know you're going to die, don't you?"

She answered back with calm anger that would have made almost anyone shiver with fear. "The only one that is going to die today will be you, Tutock. And I don't mean that as a threat. That's a promise." She drew her Firestarter sword, a pure sword made from fire itself with sharp cutting edges that cackled and flickered with power, the heat rising off the flames of the sword.

Tutock laughed in mockery. "You dare attack me now, when I am this powerful?!"

"Don't be so cocky. You have no idea how powerful I can be."

"You should remember your own words, girl!"

"Then remember the poem concerning the Firestarter Warrior! Born with fire, immense in power. Ultimate speed and strength and the ability to handle many at once. A fierce warrior with leadership attitudes. Impossible to be defeated by any, faith does lead this one to defeat any and many!"

Tutock stood there, glaring at her with a deep hatred. He knew the poem far too well, and it irked him. He wanted nothing more than to destroy this girl and be rid of her once and for all. To be rid of all of the Warriors, with the exception of Storm.

He raised his giant S shaped sword and suddenly charged, with a loud war cry. He attacked Flash and she brought up her own sword for defense. The two of them were moving so fast they were unseen, but their energies and powers were felt by the entire realm. Again and again the swords met creating fire and lightning sparks. Tutock caused his sword to grow out, hoping to wrap her around the neck with it and choke her to death. She dodged out of the way and somersaulted right over his head, kicking him in the face as she did so. 

He grunted and reached for her, at the same time bringing his sword down over his head toward her own. She barely had time to get away and the sword sliced open her left arm, leaving a nasty cut. 

Tutock laughed evilly. He would win, he could feel it within himself. All he had to do was attack once more, and the world would be his. He charged again, and again the swooshing and whooshing of swords met again and again. 

"Give up, girl!" Tutock shouted with rage.

"I never give up!" she snapped back with rage. 

Tutock grunted angrily, and vanished from her sight. He reappeared next to Ryo's unconscious form, and suddenly lifted him up, holding his sword against Ryo's throat. He gave a smirk. "Say good-bye to your lover!"

Before Flash could move, he had suddenly rammed the sword through Ryo's throat, causing it to come out through the back of his neck. Flash stared in horror at the suddenly blood that gushed forward both from the torn throat and from Ryo's mouth. She could hear Tutock laughing evilly, and all the rage grew within her, boiling dangerously like magma in a volcano that was more than ready to blow. She shook with anger, tears running down her cheeks. She threw back her head and screamed. "RYO!!!"

Tutock laughed evilly again, the sound of his laughter echoing throughout the castle. Suddenly he felt powerful heat, more powerful heat than he had ever felt before in his lifetime. He stared in shock at Flash who was glowing a brilliant blue now, her hair blew wildly behind her, more uncontrollably than it had ever blown before. The flame in her forehead, her symbol, was flaring brightly with power and pulsing as if it had a life of its own. The temperature rose dangerously. In an instant all forms of liquids, both wet and solid, evaporated, statues melted into nothing. The floors became so hot that anyone else would have caught on fire just from walking on them. Tutock could feel the rise in power, and could feel his feet burning with pain. He ignored the pain and focused on the power he had stolen from the boy. He brought it to the surface, causing more heat to be added to the situation. But then suddenly he realized what a mistake he had made. Instead of weakening the girl as he had hoped, the power only made her stronger. 

Flash could see his shocked, disbelieving look on his face. "You should know your enemies better, Tutock!" She suddenly jerked her head, and gave a silent command to Ryo's power. The power obeyed instantly and suddenly Tutock exploded literally. 

From their watching spot, all the Ronins and Warriors could feel the incredible blast. They watched in horror as the giant castle of Tutock suddenly exploded as if an asteroid had slammed into it at full speed and force. The ground shook violently, creating giant craters within the ground. Sage was awakened from the force and he too watched in horror. And now all of them believed that Ryo was dead. And how right they were. Minutes after the explosion, they could see a figure walking toward them, and when it got closer they could see it was Flash, carrying Ryo within her arms. Tears streamed down her face, and when she finally made it to them, the Ronins panicked and screamed with horror. They were stunned and shocked. Memories of Ryo being alive flew through their minds in an endless race. How could this have happened?

"Please calm yourselves," Blaze said. 

"Our friend is dead, and you expect us to be calm?!" Rowen snapped.

Blaze stared back at him unmoving, unblinking. "Getting upset will not help the situation anymore than it already is. Have you all forgotten what Storm can do?"

None of them knew who Storm was at the moment, and none of them cared. Their main thoughts were on Ryo.

"Thunder?" Flashed looked toward the tall Warrior with hope in her eyes.

Thunder stepped forward and placed one hand on Ryo's deceased body. He closed his eyes and stood there as a red aura glowed around him. The lightning bolt appeared in his forehead, glowing brightly, and he fed all of his healing and energy into the boy, healing all the damage both internal and external. The glow surrounded Ryo as the Ronins watched in amazement, and yet with doubt. They could not actually believe he could bring Ryo back, but they said nothing and continued to wait.

A few minutes passed, and then suddenly Ryo took a deep breath. He coughed once, and tightened his fists at his sides. Thunder stepped away, his healing powers dying down as Ryo's eyes fluttered several times, and a gasp came from him. Finally the bearer of Wildfire opened his eyes.

"RYO!!" Rowen, Sage, Kento, and Cye shouted with joy and relief.

Ryo managed to smile back at them, and then he heard a soft whisper from above him. "Ryo.."

Ryo turned his head and looked up into Flash's arms. It was then he realized that she was holding him in her arms. And Ryo turned as red as his Wildfire armor.

"Hey look he's blushing!" Ice laughed.

"I think someone likes someone!" Chilie said with a grin.

Ryo blushed even more, but to his relief, Cye said, "I hate to break our moment of joy, but shouldn't we get back now?"

"Torrent's right," Blaze said. 

"Just how do we get back?" Rowen wondered.

"I'm afraid you won't be going back!" came a voice. All of them turned to stare at the eight Guardians who stood there side by side. Tension rose up between the two forces. Ryo was let down by Flash, and the two stood side by side. 

"Come on, let's take these losers!" Shades snarled viciously.

Flash nodded. "Right. Time to make them pay!"

All of them armored up except for Flash. The battle began. Weapons crashed against weapons, powers against powers. Surekills were called, met, and sometimes canceled. This was one tough battle and it was hard to tell who would win and who would lose.

Finally all of them but Flash called their surekills at the same exact time.

"FLARE UP NOW!!" Ryo shouted.

"THUNDER BOLT CUT!!" Sage roared.

"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!!" Kento cried.

"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!!" Cye shouted.

"ARROW SHOCK WAVE!!" Rowen hollered.

"EARTH SHOCK WAVE!!" Ice hollered out.

"WINTER FREEZE ENERGY!!" Snow yelled.

"LOVE SURRNENDER!!" Chilie shouted.

"MAGIC ARROW SHOCK!!" T-boz cried.

"WATER TORRENT POWER!!" Scorpio shouted.

"LIGHTNING BOLT STRIKE!!" Thunder hollered.

"BOOMERRANG POWER ATTACK!!" Shades shouted.

Flash did not need to shout to send her power outward. She sent her power through her blade and increased it by tenfold. The powers of the thirteen warriors went out and met with each other, combining in force, growing in strength and energy. The Guardians had no time to scream as the incredibly combined force of power slammed into them. In seconds, it was over, the Guardians were gone, and the Ronins and the Warriors had won.

A/N: Is this the end? Guess what! Nope it's not! Stay tuned for more!! Oh, hey, a question. From what you all can tell who's your favorite Warrior? I'm curious to know. Well, see ya later! 


	30. Chapt. 30

****

United Forces.

Chapt. 30

The thirteen teenagers, the two mystical animals, and the elderly man stood together at the airport. Flash was getting ready to go back to Japan with Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Cye, and Kento, and her friends, Shades, T-boz, Thunder, Scorpio, Chilie, Snow, Ice, and Chinook were all seeing her off, knowing she would not be back for another few months.

"You will call won't you?" T-boz asked her friend.

"Of course I will," Flash replied with a smile. "I can probably call at least once a week, if Mia doesn't mind."

"Mia?" Scorpio asked with a confused look on his face.

"That's the woman who we're all staying with," Rowen explained. "She's Flash's host."

"So all of you are exchange students?" Ice asked.

"No," Cye said. "Our parents let us stay there so we can go to school together."

"Oh," Ice said with a nod of his head.

"Hey, you should all come out to Japan sometime," Sage offered. 

The Warriors looked at one another as if trying to decide on that. Finally they looked back at the Ronins.

"Only if you guys come here sometime as well," Chilie said, flashing Sage a flirting smile. Sage smiled back his own flirting smile. Coming back to America just to see Chilie was good enough for him.

"Yes," Chinook added. "There is plenty of room at the mansion for all of you and your tiger."

"Will do!" Kento said with a laugh.

"Flight 797 is now boarding!" came the announcement over the speaker. "Flight 797 is now boarding!"

Flash shifted her duffle bag as she hugged all of her friends. "I'll see you guys again. Take care of each other."

"We will, Flash," Thunder promised.

"You take care of yourself too," Shades said.

Flash smiled. "I will." She turned and left with her new friends, dragging Blaze's portable cage along with her.

The seven Warriors watched them go until they could see them no more. 

"Do you think we'll see them again?" Scorpio wondered.

"I'm sure we will," Thunder said softly.

"That would be great," Chilie said dreamily. 

The Warriors just shook their heads at her, and followed Chinook out of the airport. They boarded the bus waiting for them and took their seats among the other passengers. Thunder had a side window and he was glancing out of it. They all heard an airplane taking off, and Thunder turned his gaze to where the plane was. He saw it rising up into the air, ascending higher and higher into the air. And he knew that Flash was waving good-bye to all of them. He smiled softly and faced forward, listening to the excited chatter of his friends, thinking that it was good to be free again. He leaned back in his seat as the driver started the bus and drove out of the parking lot of the terminal and onto the freeway.

A week later the Talent Show had come again. Flash was not really surprised that she had been chosen to participate in the act again. And Cye, Kento, Sage, Rowen, and Ryo were in the act again, as well as several other people. Once again, the Ronins sang a song which they got another standing ovation for. They didn't realize how good they sounded, and even Flash thought they should start a music group. That had made them blush, even Sage who hardly ever blushed. Finally it was Flash's turn to take her act on stage. As soon as the audience saw her, they started cheering expecting good laughs from her.

"Whohoo! I'm glad to be back! Did you miss me?" she started. They hooted and cheered on. "That's great to know someone missed me. Several months ago I was out walking around in my hometown. I was gone oh say like five hours or so. So anyway I turned home expecting to get hugs and kisses from my little brother and sister. You wanna know what they said? Did you bring us back something?"

The audience chuckled at that as she continued. "Now in my opinion, young kids today have respect for no one and nothing. You give them something they tear it up. You give them something to write with, you see graffiti on the walls. Even in your home. They also break things! Like this one day, my little brother Sammy tore up our little sister Cammy's doll. And the way it looked, you just groan and go, "Oh no.. Now here's a murderer in training. Now don't take me wrong. I love kids. They adorable, sweet, they make you laugh. They also make you cry too. Like when they take the baseball and whack you against your knees with it. And trust me, you'll be limping for weeks on straight. And you can't tell anyone your little brother or sister of fours beat you up. You'd be the laughing stock of the town! And you can't hit them back half the time, because it's called child abuse, or you get the, Well you're older and bigger! You'll hit harder and hurt them, from your parents. And you're thinking the whole time, that's the idea, mom and dad."

The audience laughed again. 

"Now you all know that I hate snakes. But lizards, oh boy.. These are nothing but snakes with legs. And I know you're all thinking I'm a wimp. Heh, you're right. I am. There's this one lizard who can get on its hind legs and run. Can you imagine seeing that thing. You'd be watching it run across the road just like a person would. And you'd be glad you weren't high on drugs. Otherwise you'd go up and talk to it. Hey, what's your name? Are you ill? Sure look green! What no shoes? Better put some on, man! Okay, you're gonna get blisters in your feet!"

Laughter came again as the audience could barely control themselves. The five Ronins were clutching their sides, unable to stop laughing long enough the take a break and rest their ribs. 

"Hey, guys!" Thunder shouted as he stood in front of the television back in America. "Flash is on TV!"

"Say what?!" Shades cried, dropping her math book and running out into the living room. She stood in shock at the TV watching Flash give off her comedy. They were quickly joined by the others and all of them sat or laid down in front of the television watching their friend and their leader, and soon they were all laughing as well.

"Now my opinion stupid people should given signs. And no I'm not saying that to be cruel. Some people make no sense whatsoever to me. Which is why warning signs were made. They're not for smart people, they're for stupid people. Like on the back of a deodorant it says, Do not apply this to your eyes. Now how many of you have had dates, and they were good looking but their eyes smelled? Or how about this? On a shampoo bottle it says, Wet, lather, wash, repeat. Some idiots are still washing their hair! Cause it doesn't say, dry your hair and try again the next day. And also when you get a package of an electronic there's this little packet in there that says, do not eat this. Did anyone of you ever thought there might be something to eat there? Well lookie here! I got a Sega Genises and a pack of steaks! I got a stereo and a bag of chips!"

Ryo almost fell out of his seat with laughter. Kento practically fell over on Cye, and Cye didn't even notice because he was laughing so hard. And across the world as people watched the Talent Show on TV many people were also laughing as the girl continued.

"Now on the back of a hair blowing dryer it says, "Do not use this while sleeping. Now I can't remember how many times, I've been sound asleep, then woke up to find out I was doing my hair. Oh crap, I was sleep styling again! And not to mention the fact what people say back to you when you either tell them something or at what you're doing. Like a few years ago, my family was moving from the north side of San Francisco. We had several boxes packed. Our next door neighbor comes over and asks, hey are you guys moving? Nope. We decided to start packing our stuff up to see how many boxes it takes us. Here's your sign."

The audience and viewers world wide laughed hysterically at this. Some of them could remember being in the same position as that before.

"And another day one of my friends and I were moving some fish to a safer area, because he's really into that sort of thing, protecting fish. This baka on the dock asked us if we had caught them all. Nope. We talked them into giving up. Here's your sign."

Even more laughter came again, as the audience could barely control themselves. The act went on for another ten minutes or so and Flash finally finished and received encores and standing ovations, including whistles and lots of cheering and laughing. She stepped down off the stage and joined her friends.

"That was so funny!" Kento said.

"Thank you," Flash said with a smile.

"Well, now that's it over, we should get back to class," Rowen stated.

"Um, I hate to disappoint you, Rowen," Cye said. "But school is over."

Rowen pouted a bit, but then got over it, and followed everyone else out. The students of Hana High grabbed their belongings and went their own ways, leaving the school, and heading for home.

Flash was walking beside Ryo, Cye and Kento were in front of them, and Rowen and Sage were behind them. She had a calm look on her face as she walked along with them. She looked up at Ryo and smiled, a smile of relief, gratitude, and pure happiness. Ryo was alive again, and it was thanks to Thunder he was. She would have to thank him when she returned home. And as she looked at Ryo from the corner of her eyes, she could admit that she loved him deeply. 

End.

A/N: Yes! Finished! Hooray!! *dances around* Okay, I'm calm. Now to clear some things. The comedy Flash had given came from a great comedian known as Bill Engle. I'm not using his comedy to make money off of, I'm only borrowing it. I think everyone should listen to his comedy. You'll roll around laughing your heads off. Although some of the comedy is mine, like the baseball bat thing, and the that's the idea mom and dad. In the meantime, feel free to review and all! See ya, minna-san!


End file.
